Correlation between circulating tumor cells and different molecular biological characteristics in breast cancer patients

Abstract

Background: This study sought to detect the number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in breast cancer patients, and examine the relationship between CTCs and molecular biological characteristics. Methods: From June 2016 to June 2018, 150 female patients with invasive breast cancer detected by CTCs at the Department of Breast Surgery, Fudan University Cancer Hospital were enrolled in this study. The patients had an average age of 52.6±7.8 (range, 35–77) years. Routine pathological and immunohistochemical examinations were performed on tissues obtained during surgery. In this study, CTCs were detected using the immunomagnetic bead negative enrichment technique (i.e., the Cyttel technique). The measurement data are expressed by x ± s, and were compared by t-tests. A univariate analysis of variance was used to compare differences between groups. The count data are expressed as the absolute value, and the test χ2 or Fisher’s exact test were used to compare differences. Results: There were 109 cases of positive CTC (≥3 CTCs/4 mL) (72.7%), and 41 cases of negative CTC (<3 CTCs/4 mL) (27.3%). There were no significant differences in terms of age and menopausal status between the two groups (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the positive rate of CTC in T1, T2, and T3 and above patients (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the CTC positive rate between ER positive and negative patients, PR positive and negative patients, and Ki-67 ≥14% and <14% patients (P>0.05). However, there was a statistical difference in the positive rate of CTC between human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) positive and negative patients (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the CTC positive rate among patients with Luminal A type, B type, HER-2 overexpression type, and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the positive rate of CTC among patients with invasive ductal carcinoma, invasive lobular carcinoma, and other types of invasive carcinoma (P>0.05). Conclusions: It can be concluded that there is a relationship between CTC and HER-2 expression, which has certain predictive value for patients with positive HER-2 expression, thus predicting poor prognosis.