Transcription phenotype of circulating tumor cells in non-metastatic breast cancer

The objective of the study was to evaluate the clinical significance of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and their transcriptional phenotype in relation to overall and progression-free survival in patients with non-metastatic breast cancer. The presence of CTCs was studied before the start of special antitumor treatment and after its completion in 102 patients with primary non-metastatic breast cancer (BC) stage I–IIIC. The statistically significant increase in PFS in the group of patients without CTCs before the start of the treatment was established in 89.2 (87.9–92.4 confidence interval (CI) 95%) versus 79.9 (77.6–82.2 CI 95%) in the group with CTCs before treatment at p Log-Rank=0.01. The presence of CTCs expressing ABC transporter superfamily genes in the peripheral blood statistically significantly reduces the values of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Three-year OS was 79.2 (77.1–82.3 CI 95%), and 90.8 (87.4–91.9 CI 95%) without the expression with p Log-Rank=0.04. The presence of circulating tumor cells expressing BIRC5 and HER2-neu genes, and ABC transporter genes, before the initiation of special treatment and the preservation of CTCs after the completion of adjuvant anticancer therapy are independent risk predictors of disease recurrence.