scholarly journals Inflammation-Based Scores Increase the Prognostic Value of Circulating Tumor Cells in Primary Breast Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svetlana Miklikova ◽  
Gabriel Minarik ◽  
Tatiana Sedlackova ◽  
Jana Plava ◽  
Marina Cihova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Circulating Tumor Cells ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Complete Blood Count ◽  
Metastatic Breast ◽  
Disease Recurrence ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Lymphocyte Ratio ◽  
Increased Risk

A correlation between circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and monocytes in metastatic breast cancer (BC), where CTCs and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) were predictors of overall survival (OS), was recently shown. Herein, we aimed to assess the association between CTCs and the complete blood count (CBC)-derived inflammation-based scores in 284 primary BC patients. CTCs were determined in CD45-depleted peripheral blood mononuclear cells by real time-PCR. This method allowed us to detect a subset of CTCs with an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition phenotype (CTC EMT), previously associated with inferior outcomes in primary BC. In the present study, CTC EMT positivity (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.4; 95% CI 1.20–4.66, p = 0.013) and elevated neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (HR = 2.20; 95% CI 1.07–4.55; p = 0.033) were associated with shorter progression-free survival (PFS) in primary BC patients. Multivariate analysis showed that CTC EMT-positive patients with NLR ≥ 3 had 8.6 times increased risk of disease recurrence (95% CI 2.35–31.48, p = 0.001) compared with CTC EMT-negative patients with NLR < 3. Similarly, disease recurrence was 13.14 times more likely in CTC EMT-positive patients with MLR ≥ 0.34 (95% CI 4.35–39.67, p < 0.001). Given its low methodological and financial demands, the CBC-derived inflammation-based score determination could, after broader validation, significantly improve the prognostication of BC patients.

scholarly journals Clinical Relevance of Immune Checkpoints on Circulating Tumor Cells in Breast Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria A. Papadaki ◽  
Anastasios V. Koutsopoulos ◽  
Panormitis G. Tsoulfas ◽  
Eleni Lagoudaki ◽  
Despoina Aggouraki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Circulating Tumor Cells ◽  
Peripheral Blood ◽  
Tumor Tissue ◽  
Mononuclear Cells ◽  
Immune Checkpoints ◽  
Peripheral Blood Mononuclear ◽  
Increased Risk

The role of CD47 and PD-L1 expression on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) remains unclear, and it is currently unknown whether their distribution varies between the blood and tumor tissue in breast cancer (BC). In this study, CD47 and PD-L1 expression was investigated a) on peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cytospins from early (n = 100) and metastatic (n = 98) BC patients, by triple immunofluorescence for CD47/PD-L1/Cytokeratins, and b) on matched primary and/or metastatic tumor tissue from CTC-positive patients using immunohistochemistry. CD47+and/orPD-L1+ CTCs were detected in 11%, 16.9%, and 29.6% of early, recurrent, and de novo metastatic patients (p = 0.016). In metastatic disease, CD47highand/orPD-L1high CTCs were associated with disease progression (p = 0.005) and shorter progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.010), and independently predicted for an increased risk of relapse (HR: 2.719; p = 0.008) and death (HR: 2.398; p = 0.034). PD-L1 expression rates differed between CTCs and tissue tumor cells and between peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) (positive concordance of 3.8% and 4%, respectively). CD47 expression also differed between CTCs and tumor cells (positive concordance of 11.5%). In conclusion, CTCs expressing CD47 and PD-L1 have independent poor prognostic implications in metastatic BC, indicating a potential role of innate and adaptive immune evasion mechanisms in their metastatic potential. The clinical value of the parallel assessment of the peripheral and local immune response merits further evaluation in BC.

scholarly journals Expression of Stem Cell and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Markers in Circulating Tumor Cells of Breast Cancer Patients

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Krawczyk ◽  
Franziska Meier-Stiegen ◽  
Malgorzata Banys ◽  
Hans Neubauer ◽  
Eugen Ruckhaeberle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Circulating Tumor Cells ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Metastatic Breast ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Stem Cell Markers ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition

Evaluation and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have become a major focus of translational cancer research. Presence of CTCs predicts worse clinical outcome in early and metastatic breast cancer. Whether all cells from the primary tumor have potential to disseminate and form subsequent metastasis remains unclear. As part of the metastatic cascade, tumor cells lose their cell-to-cell adhesion and undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in order to enter blood circulation. During EMT epithelial antigens are downregulated; thus, such tumor cells might elude classical epithelial marker-based detection. Several researchers postulated that some CTCs express stem cell-like phenotype; this might lead to chemoresistance and enhanced metastatic potential of such cells. In the present review, we discuss current data on EMT and stem cell markers in CTCs of breast cancer and their clinical significance.

scholarly journals The Role of Circulating Tumor Cells in Chemoresistant Metastatic Breast Cancer

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 684
Author(s):  
Lorena Alexandra Lisencu ◽  
Eduard-Alexandru Bonci ◽  
Alexandru Irimie ◽  
Ovidiu Balacescu ◽  
Cosmin Lisencu
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Metastatic Breast Cancer ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Circulating Tumor Cells ◽  
Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Metastatic Breast ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition

Breast cancer is the most frequent form of cancer among women and is one of the leading causes of death. Two routes of the metastatic process have been described: linear and parallel progression. A key factor is represented by circulating tumor cells (CTCs). CTCs detach from the primary tumor or develop from cancer stem cells (CSCs) that undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). CTCs migrate to the distant site where the reverse process occurs and a new tumor arises. One of the key problems of metastatic disease is chemoresistance, which leads to treatment failure and, eventually, death. The aim of this review is to present up-to-date data regarding the role of CTCs in chemoresistance in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. A search in Cochrane Library and MEDLINE databases was performed. A total of 125 articles were identified. The results of the final 12 eligible studies revealed that CTCs having stem cell features and those with mesenchymal features are aggressive subtypes of cells that survive chemotherapy, being responsible for chemoresistance and thus for disease progression in MBC patients. The hemodynamic shear stress, alongside dynamic changes among CTCs during the disease, is also an important disease progression factor.

scholarly journals Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of tumor cells: cancer progression and metastasis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasileios Vardas ◽  
Eleni Politaki ◽  
Evangelia Pantazaka ◽  
Vassilis Georgoulias ◽  
Galatea Kallergi
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Circulating Tumor Cells ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Metastatic Breast ◽  
Cellsearch System ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity

Detection and characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype is very important as it can contribute to the identification of high-risk for relapse and death patients. However, most of the methods are underestimating CTC numbers, due to their dependence on epithelial markers. In the current study, we evaluated the EMT phenotype in CTCs isolated from breast cancer (BC) patients, using the CellSearch system. Spiking experiments for the evaluation of the specificity and sensitivity of our method were performed using HeLa cells. Sixty-five breast cancer (BC) patients (47 early and 18 metastatic) were enrolled in the study. Vimentin is a mesenchymal marker which indicates tumoral cells acquiring invasive and malignant properties. We studied the vimentin (VIM) expression using the extra channel of the CellSearch system and an anti-vimentin antibody conjugated with FITC. In our present results, we reported the percentage of circulating tumor cells that expressed vimentin in early and in metastatic breast cancer patients. Interestingly, the incidence of cells with a CK-VIM+CD45- phenotype was detected in both settings. These cells were detected in 31.4% of CK-negative (11/35) and 82.3% of CK-positive (10/12) early BC patients. The corresponding numbers for metastatic disease were 15.4% (2/13) and 100% (5/5), respectively. Our results suggest that in CTC-negative patients, potentially undetectable tumor cells could be identified using the FDA-approved CellSearch system, based on the (CK-VIM+CD45-)-phenotype, offering additional information regarding the metastatic dissemination in cancer patients. Further experiments evaluating more biomarkers are necessary to elucidate the mechanisms that regulate tumorigenesis and metastasis.

scholarly journals CIRCULATING TUMOR CELLS: CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE IN BREAST CANCER (REVIEW)

2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 450-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. V. Kaigorodova
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Circulating Tumor Cells ◽  
Clinical Significance ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Clinical Importance ◽  
Metastatic Breast ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) constitute a heterogeneous population. Some tumor cells are cancer stem cells (CSCs), while others are in the process of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT); however, most CTCs are neither stem cells nor participants in the EMT. There is increasing interest in the study of the molecular biological characteristics of CTCs. Many researchers consider circulating tumor cells (CTC) as one of the variants of «liquid biopsy in real time». In this review, we discuss the clinical significance of CTCs in breast cancer and in particular the prognostic and predictive significance both in early stage and metastatic breast cancer, as well as the pathogenetic role of CTCs in venous thromboembolism. Evaluation of various characteristics of CTCs is promising for the study of new biomarkers and targets for targeted therapies. The clinical importance involves the determination of the heterogeneity of the CТC and in particular of the stem subpopulation of these cells, cells with signs of EMТ, with no evidence of stem cells, and with a combination of these features.

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