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- Falck, Anna-Karin, et al.
(author)
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Analysis of and prognostic information from disseminated tumour cells in bone marrow in primary breast cancer: a prospective observational study
- 2012
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In: BMC Cancer. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2407. ; 12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) in the bone marrow of patients with breast cancer have been identified as an independent predictor of poor prognosis in patients with non-metastatic disease. This prospective study aimed to evaluate the presence and prognostic value of DTCs in the bone marrow of female patients with primary breast cancer. Methods: Between 1999 and 2003, bone marrow aspirates were obtained from patients at the time of surgery for primary invasive breast cancer. DTCs in bone marrow were identified using monoclonal antibodies against cytokeratins for detection of epithelial cells. The detection of DTCs was related to clinical follow-up with distant disease-free survival (DDFS) and breast cancer-specific survival as endpoints. Bone marrow aspirates from adult healthy bone marrow donors were analysed separately. Results: DTCs were analysed in 401 patients, and cytokeratin-positive cells were found in 152 of these (38%). An immunofluorescence (IF) staining procedure was used in 327 patients, and immunocytochemistry (IC) was performed in 74 patients. The IF-based method resulted in 40% DTC-positive cases, whereas 30% were positive using IC (p = 0.11). The presence of DTCs in bone marrow was not significantly related to patient or tumour characteristics. The presence of DTCs was not a prognostic factor for DDFS (IF: hazards ratio [HR], 2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63-2.2; p = 0.60; IC: HR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.09-8.1; p = 0.88). Significant prognostic factors were lymph node metastases, oestrogen receptor positivity, Nottingham histological grade, and tumour size using Cox univariate analysis. The analyses were positive for epithelial cells in bone marrow from adult healthy donors in 19 (25%) samples. Conclusions: The detection of DTCs in bone marrow in primary breast cancer was previously shown to be a predictor of poor prognosis. We were not able to confirm these results in a prospective cohort including unselected patients before the standard procedure was established. Future studies with a standardised patient protocol and improved technique for isolating and detecting DTCs may reveal the clinical applications of DTC detection in patients with micrometastases in the bone marrow.
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| 2. |
- Partanen, Laura, et al.
(author)
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Amplification and overexpression of the ABCC3 (MRP3) gene in primary breast cancer
- 2012
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In: Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer. - : Wiley. - 1045-2257. ; 51:9, s. 832-840
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) of active transporters comprises a group of proteins that which facilitate efflux of anticancer drugs from cancer cells. We focused on the gene amplification and protein expression of ABCC3 (also known as MRP3) in breast cancer cell lines and clinical tumor samples. Fluorescence and chromogenic in situ hybridization, using an ABCC3-specific probe, was used to analyze 11 breast cancer cell lines and 112 clinical tumor samples. The results of ABCC3 were correlated with the amplification status of HER2 and topoisomerase II alpha (TOP2A), which are located close to ABCC3 at 17q12-q21. Immunohistochemistry was used to assess ABCC3 protein overexpression. Of the cell lines studied 6 HER2-positive lines and 1 HER2-negative line exhibited amplification of ABCC3. In the HER-2-negative clinical tumor samples, only 4/55 (7.3%) exhibited ABCC3 amplification. In the HER2-positive tumors, ABCC3 was amplified in 16/57 tumors (28.1%, P = 0.0059). TOP2A did not exhibit any consistent coamplification pattern. ABCC3 (MRP3) protein overexpression was more common in tumors with gene amplification (P = 0.069). In silico analysis of 804 breast cancers with matched gene expression and copy number microarray data revealed significant differences ABCC3 across the molecular subtypes. Specifically, increased ABCC3 mRNA and gene copy numbers were most prominent in HER2 amplified and/or HER2-enriched classified tumors. Moreover, differential ABCC3 mRNA levels were found within the HER-2 amplified subset when stratified by the estrogen receptor status. We conclude that ABCC3 is frequently amplified and overexpressed in HER2-positive breast cancer, and something that warrants further studies correlating the results with therapeutic outcome. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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