Detection of circulating epithelial cells in the blood of patients with breast cancer: comparison of three techniques.

ABSTRACT: This study compares the sensitivities and specificities of three techniques for the detection of circulating epithelial cells in the blood of patients with breast cancer. The number of circulating epithelial cells present in the blood of 40 patients with metastatic breast cancer and 20 healthy volunteers was determined by: immunomagnetic separation (IMS) and laser scanning cytometry (LSC), cell filtration and LSC and a multimarker real-time RT-PCR assay. Numbers of cytokeratin-positive cells identified and expression of three PCR markers were significantly higher in the blood of patients with breast cancer than in healthy volunteers. Using the upper 95% confidence interval of cells detected in controls to determine positive patient samples: 30% of patients with metastatic breast cancer wer

SUBMITTER: Ring AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2361897 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature