Circulating Tumor Cells in Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Prognostic and Predictive Marker.

ABSTRACT: The role of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as a marker for disease progression in metastatic cancer is controversial. The current review will serve to summarize the evidence on CTCs as a marker of disease progression in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The immunohistochemistry(IHC)-based CellSearch^® is the only FDA-approved isolation technique for quantifying CTCs in patients with metastatic breast cancer. We searched PubMed and Web of Knowledge for clinical studies that assessed the prognostic and predictive value of CTCs using IHC-based isolation. The patient outcomes reported include median and Cox-proportional hazard ratios for overall-survival (OS) and progression-free-survival (PFS). All studies reported shorter OS for CTC-positive patients versus CTC-negative. A su

SUBMITTER: Moussavi-Harami SF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4405902 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature