scholarly journals Characterization of circulating tumor cells in early breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 175883592110284
Author(s):  
Anna Jakabova ◽  
Zuzana Bielcikova ◽  
Eliska Pospisilova ◽  
Lubos Petruzelka ◽  
Piotr Blasiak ◽  
...  

Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to characterize circulating tumor cells (CTCs) during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in early and locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) patients. Using ultrasound, tumor volume measurement was compared with the presence and the molecular nature of CTCs over multiple time intervals corresponding to treatment periods. Methods: A total of 20 patients diagnosed with breast cancer (BC) of different histotypes were monitored during the NACT period and in the follow-up period (~5 years). Peripheral blood for CTCs ( n = 115) was taken prior to NACT, after two to three chemotherapy cycles, after the completion of NACT (before surgery) and at some time points during adjuvant therapy. CTCs were enriched using a size-based filtration method (MetaCell®) capturing viable cells, which enabled vital fluorescence microscopy. A set of tumor-associated (TA) genes and chemoresistance-associated (CA) genes was analyzed by qPCR in the enriched CTC fractions. Results: The analysis of tumor volume reduction after administration of anthracyclines (AC) and taxanes (TAX) during NACT showed that AC therapy was responsive in 60% (12/20) of tumors, whereas TAX therapy was responsive in 30% (6/20; n.s.). After NACT, CTCs were still present in 70.5% (12/17) of patients (responders versus non-responders, 61.5% versus 100%; not significant). In triple-negative BC (TNBC) patients ( n = 8), tumor volume reduction was observed in 75% cases. CTCs were significantly reduced in 42.9% of all HER2-negative BC patients. In HER2+ tumors, CTC reduction was reported in 16.6% only. Relapses were also more prevalent in the HER2-positive patient group (28.5 versus 66.6%). During NACT, the presence of CTCs (three tests for each patient) identified patients with relapses and indicated significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) rates ( p = 0.03). Differentiation between progressive disease and non-progressive disease was obtained when the occurrence of excessive expression for CA genes in CTCs was compared ( p = 0.024). Absence of tumor volume reduction was also significantly indicative for progressive disease ( p = 0.0224). Disseminated CTCs in HER2-negative tumors expressed HER2 in 29% of samples collected during the overall follow-up period (16/55), and in 32% of samples during the follow-up of NACT (10/31). The change accounted for 78.5% of HER2-negative patients (11/14) in total, and 63.6% of the conversion cases occurred during NACT (7/11). For the remaining four patients (36.3%), conversion to HER2+ CTCs occurred later during adjuvant therapy. We believe there is the possibility of preventing further progression by identifying less responsive tumors during NACT using CTC monitoring, which could also be used effectively during adjuvant therapy.

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (27_suppl) ◽  
pp. 140-140
Author(s):  
Anna Kaminsky

140 Background: Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare subtype that accounts for <1% of all breast carcinomas. MBC is frequently triple-negative and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is often used in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The objective of this analysis is to ascertain response rates of MBC to NAC as compared to non-metaplastic TNBC. Methods: We searched the Magee Women’s Cancer Center of UPMC IRB-approved neo-adjuvant treatment database which contains outcome data on 594 patients treated from 2004-2010. 116 patients with triple negative breast cancer (ER /PR negative or ER /PR weakly positive [H score of 10 or less] and HER2 negative or indeterminate [HER2 1+ or 2+ without amplification by FISH]), were identified. Nine of these TNBCs had metaplastic subtype and two groups were analyzed: metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) (N= 9) and non-metaplastic breast carcinoma (NMBC) (N = 107). Tumor volume reduction (TVR), pathologic complete response (pCR), recurrence and mortality were compared in both groups. Results: Average follow-up in MBC group was 43 months and no patients were lost to follow-up. Average tumor size on presentation in MBC group was 4.47 cm while in NMBC group it was 3.33 cm. pCR was noted in 0/9 MBC and 43/107 NMBC cases (p = 0.0253). 6/9 patients had mastectomy, 2/9 had breast conserving surgery (BCS) and 1/9 patients did not have a surgery yet. Average TVR was 28% in MBC cases compared to 74% in NMBCs when cases with pCR were included (p = 0.0001) and 56% when cases with pCR were excluded (p = 0.0202). Follow up on 9 MBC cases revealed 1 recurrence and subsequent death (11%). Follow-up on 64 NMBC patients who failed to achieve pCR revealed 22 recurrences (34%) and 18 of them subsequently died (28%). Follow-up on 43 NMBC cases that achieved pCR revealed 3 recurrences (7%) and 1 death (2%). Conclusions: MBC was characterized by larger size at baseline as compared to NMBC. There were no pCR’s seen in MBC, but some MBC did achieve response that allowed for breast conservation. Although the average tumor volume reduction was significantly less in MBC compared to NMBC, the NMBC that failed to achieve pCR fared much worse than MBC who did not achieve pCR. Therefore, the triple-negative paradox is likely not applicable to MBC.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1038-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kaminsky ◽  
Rohit Bhargava ◽  
Kandace P McGuire ◽  
Shannon Puhalla

1038 Background: Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare subtype that accounts for <1% of all breast carcinomas. MBC is frequently triple negative and neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is often used in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The objective of this analysis is to ascertain response rates of MBC to NAC as compared to non-metaplastic TNBC. Methods: We searched the Magee Women’s Cancer Center of UPMC IRB-approved neo-adjuvant treatment database which contains outcome data on 594 patients treated from 2004-2010. 116 patients with triple negative breast cancer (ER /PR negative or ER /PR weakly positive (H score of 10 or less) and HER2 negative or indeterminate (HER2 1+ or 2+ without amplification by FISH)), were identified. Nine of these TNBCs had metaplastic subtype and 2 groups were analyzed: metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) (N= 9) and non-metaplastic breast carcinoma (NMBC) (N = 107). Tumor volume reduction (TVR), pathologic complete response (pCR), recurrence and mortality were compared in both groups. Results: Mean follow up in MBC group was 43 months and no patients were lost to follow up. Mean tumor size on presentation in MBC group was 4.47 cm while in NMBC group it was 3.33 cm. pCR was noted in 0/9 MBC and 43/107 NMBC cases (p = 0.0253). 6/9 patients had mastectomy, 2/9 had breast conserving surgery (BCS) and 1/9 patients did not have a surgery yet. Average TVR was 28% in MBC cases compared to 74% in NMBCs when cases with pCR were included (p = 0.0001) and 56% when cases with pCR were excluded (p = 0.0202). Follow up on 9 MBC cases revealed 1 recurrence and subsequent death (11%). Follow up on 64 NMBC patients who failed to achieve pCR revealed 22 recurrences (34%) and 18 of them subsequently died (28%).Follow up on 43 NMBC cases that achieved pCR revealed 3 recurrences (7%) and 1 death (2%). Conclusions: MBC was characterized by larger size at baseline as compared to NMBC. There were no pCR’s seen in MBC, but some MBC did achieve response that allowed for breast conservation. Although the average tumor volume reduction was significantly less in MBC compared to NMBC, the NMBC that failed to achieve pCR fared much worse than MBC who did not achieve pCR. Therefore, the triple negative paradox is likely not applicable to MBC.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
François-Clément Bidard ◽  
Lisa Belin ◽  
Suzette Delaloge ◽  
Florence Lerebours ◽  
Charlotte Ngo ◽  
...  

Introduction. In non-metastatic breast cancer patients, the REMAGUS02 neoadjuvant study was the first to report a significant impact of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detection by the CellSearch system on the distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) endpoints. However, these results were only reported after a short follow-up. Here, we present the updated data, with a longer follow-up.Material and Methods. CTC count was performed before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 118 patients and correlated to survival.Results. CTC count results were available before and/or after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in 115 patients. After a median follow-up of 70 months, detection of ≥1 CTC/7.5 mL before chemotherapy (N=95) was significantly associated with DMFS (P=0.04) and OS (P=0.03), whereas postchemotherapy CTC detection (N=85) had no significant impact. In multivariable analysis, prechemotherapy CTC and triple negative phenotype were the two independent prognostic factors for survival. We observed that the CTC impact is most significant during the first three years of follow-up.Discussion. We confirm that the detection of CTC is independently associated with a significantly worse outcome, but mainly during the first 3-4 years of follow-up. No prognostic impact is seen in patients who are still relapse-free at this moment.


2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
AL Guerrero-Zotano ◽  
M Garcia-Casado ◽  
A Fernandez-Serra ◽  
J Lopez-Guerrero ◽  
J Gavila ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 110 (6) ◽  
pp. 560-567 ◽  
Author(s):  
François-Clément Bidard ◽  
Stefan Michiels ◽  
Sabine Riethdorf ◽  
Volkmar Mueller ◽  
Laura J Esserman ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 11043-11043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Katharina Neugebauer ◽  
Brigitte Kathrin Rack ◽  
Bernadette Anna Sophia Jaeger ◽  
Ulrich Andergassen ◽  
Aurelia Pestka ◽  
...  

11043 Background: The discordance between HER2-expression on circulating tumor cells (CTC) in peripheral blood and the primary tumor has already been shown by our study group for early breast cancer patients with HER2-positive tumors. Here, we compare the results to CTC prevalence and HER2-status of CTC after adjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: The SUCCESS B trial compares FEC-Docetaxel vs. FEC-Docetaxel-Gemcitabine and HER2-targeted therapy as adjuvant treatment for patients with early, HER2-positive, node positive or high risk node negative primary breast cancer. We prospectively analyzed 23ml peripheral blood before and after chemotherapy. CTC and HER2-status were assessed with the CellSearchSystem (Veridex, USA). After immunomagnetic enrichment with an anti-Epcam-antibody, cells were labeled with anti-CK 8/18/19, anti-CD45 antibodies as well as a fluorescein conjugate antibody for HER2-phenotyping. Cutoff for CTC positivity was ≥ 1 CTC. HER-positivity of CTC was assigned if at least one CTC showed strong HER2 staining (3+). Results: CTCs and their HER2-status both before and after chemotherapy were available for 392 patients. In 179 (45.7%) patients no CTC were detected before and after chemotherapy. CTC status changed from positive before to negative after chemotherapy in 104 (26.5%) patients and from negative before to positive after chemotherapy in 69 (17.6%) patients, while 40 (10.2%) patients had a consistently positive CTC status. Patients were significantly more likely to change their CTC status from positive to negative than from negative to positive (p = 0.01). Of the 40 patients with CTC both before and after chemotherapy, 14 (35%) patients had HER2-positive CTC before and after therapy, and 9 (22%) patients had HER2-negative CTC at both time points. 7 (18%) patients had HER2-positive CTC before but not after chemotherapy, while 10 (25%) patients showed the reverse pattern (p = 0.63). Conclusions: Cytotoxic treatment does not seem to influence the HER2-status on CTC. Follow-up data within the Success B trial will analyze the relevance of the HER2-expression of CTC to predict the efficacy of targeted treatment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 11042-11042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuel C. A. Bauer ◽  
Julia Katharina Neugebauer ◽  
Ulrich Andergassen ◽  
Bernadette Jaeger ◽  
Julia Kathrin Jueckstock ◽  
...  

11042 Background: Recent studies revealed that temporal changes in circulating tumor cells (CTC) prevalence assessed before and immediately after adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) might indicate treatment response in early breast cancer (EBC). However, there is limited knowledge on CTC status one or more years after chemotherapy treatment. Here we present descriptive data on CTC status prospectively evaluated 2 and 5 years after primary diagnosis in the German SUCCESS A study. Methods: The SUCCESS A trial is a large, randomized, open-label, 2x2 factorial design Phase III study comparing disease free survival (DFS) in patients with EBC treated with 3 cycles of Epirubicin-Fluorouracil-Cyclophosphamide (FEC) followed by either 3 cycles of Docetaxel (D) or 3 cycles of Gemcitabine-Docetaxel (DG), and comparing DFS in patients treated with 2 years or 5 years of Zoledronate. CTC status at various time points was assessed using the FDA-approved CellSearch System (Veridex, USA). Results: Data on CTC status both at 2 years and at 5 years after primary diagnosis were available for 983 (26.2%) out of 3754 randomized patients. After 2 and 5 years, CTCs were found in 132 (13.4%; median 1; range 1 – 99) and 88 (9.0%; median 1; range 1 – 60) patients, respectively. The majority of patients (n = 779; 79.2%) had no CTCs at any of the two time points. CTCs were found at 2 years but not at 5 years after primary diagnosis in 116 (11.8%) patients, at 5 years but not at 2 years of follow-up in 72 (7.3%) patients, and both at 2 and at 5 years of follow-up in 16 (1.6%) patients. Conclusions: CTCs in peripheral blood were detected in a subset of early breast cancer patients without relapse up to five years after primary diagnosis. These CTCs may indicate the presence of occult “dormant” micrometastases.


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