一項新研究得出結論：在轉移性乳腺癌患者接受一線治療開始之前檢測循環腫瘤細胞(CTCs)，可以很好預測無病進展的生存率(PFS)和總體生存率(OS)。

CTCs是從實體腫瘤脫落進入血液的癌細胞，與腫瘤遠處轉移有關。為了自動分離和檢測CTCs，研究人員在一項多個研究機構的臨床試驗中使用Immunicon集團的平臺和試劑(Huntingdon Valley, PA, USA)。研究報道了臨床試驗中177例亞類患者的資料，目的是確定CTCs和PFS、OS之間的關系。

研究人員不僅發現檢測轉移性乳腺癌患者的CTCs能夠很好的預測PFS和OS，而且該工藝能夠被用于對患者進行分層研究并設計滿足臨床需要的治療方案。他們的研究結果報道在2005年3月1日的《臨床腫瘤學期刊》。

“結果證實在即將首次接受治療的患者中檢測CTCs與預后信息顯著相關，并導致對這種疾病的重新分類。”首席作者Massimo Cristofanilli醫生說。他是德克薩斯州大學Anderson癌癥中心(Houston, USA)乳腺腫瘤科副教授。“而且，CTCs在治療3～4周后開始持續存在與預后顯著相關。這項資料提示這種技術在鑒別患者對治療耐受的價值，這項患者能夠從早期治療以及更多的檢查方法中獲益。”
 
CTCs Predict Breast Cancer Survival
 
A new study has concluded that the detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) before the initiation of first-line therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer is highly predictive of both progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

CTCs are cancer cells that detach from solid tumors and enter the blood stream and are implicated in the metastatic disease process. To automate the isolation and enumeration of CTCs, researchers in a multi-institutional trial used the platform and reagent technology of Immunicon Corp. (Huntingdon Valley, PA, USA). The study reports on data from a subset of 177 patients in the trial, whose purpose was to determine the relationship between the presence of CTCs and PFS and OS.

The study’s authors not only found that the detection of CTCs in patients with metastatic breast cancer is highly predictive of PFS and OS but also that the technology can be used to stratify patients and design treatments tailored to their needs. Their findings were reported in the March 1, 2005, issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“The results demonstrated that the detection of CTCs in patients who are about to start first-line treatment is associated with significant prognostic information and may lead to a reclassification of the disease,” commented lead author Massimo Cristofanilli, M.D., associate professor in the department of breast medical oncology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, USA). “Furthermore, the persistence of CTCs at three to four weeks after the treatment is started continues to be significantly associated with prognosis. These data suggest the value of this technology in the identification of patients resistant to therapy, and these patients could benefit from early treatment change and/or more investigational approaches.”