检测CTCs预测乳腺癌生存率

一项新研究得出结论：在转移性乳腺癌患者接受一线治疗开始之前检测循环肿瘤细胞(CTCs)，可以很好预测无病进展的生存率(PFS)和总体生存率(OS)。

CTCs是从实体肿瘤脱落进入血液的癌细胞，与肿瘤远处转移有关。为了自动分离和检测CTCs，研究人员在一项多个研究机构的临床试验中使用Immunicon集团的平台和试剂(Huntingdon Valley, PA, USA)。研究报道了临床试验中177例亚类患者的资料，目的是确定CTCs和PFS、OS之间的关系。

研究人员不仅发现检测转移性乳腺癌患者的CTCs能够很好的预测PFS和OS，而且该工艺能够被用于对患者进行分层研究并设计满足临床需要的治疗方案。他们的研究结果报道在2005年3月1日的《临床肿瘤学期刊》。

“结果证实在即将首次接受治疗的患者中检测CTCs与预后信息显著相关，并导致对这种疾病的重新分类。”首席作者Massimo Cristofanilli医生说。他是德克萨斯州大学Anderson癌症中心(Houston, USA)乳腺肿瘤科副教授。“而且，CTCs在治疗3～4周后开始持续存在与预后显著相关。这项资料提示这种技术在鉴别患者对治疗耐受的价值，这项患者能够从早期治疗以及更多的检查方法中获益。”
 
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.”