The fate of bone marrow micrometastases in patients with primary breast cancer.
J Clin Oncol
; 7(4): 445-9, 1989 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-2926469
ABSTRACT
Using an immunocytochemical technique, micrometastases have been found in the bone marrow of approximately 26% of patients with primary breast cancer at the time of initial surgery. To determine the fate of these cells, both in patients receiving and not receiving adjuvant therapy, multiple bone marrow aspirates were repeated in 82 patients at a median time of 18 months after surgery but prior to overt relapse. In both treated and untreated patients micrometastases were only found in one of 45 (2%) and one of 37 (3%) patients, respectively. However, when multiple marrow aspirates were taken from patients with local recurrence the incidence of micrometastases was 19% (three of 16), and this increased to 30% (three of ten) in patients with disease at distant sites other than bone, and 100% (ten of ten) in patients with radiologically proven bony disease. Three of 11 (27%) patients in whom the primary tumor remained in situ while receiving adjuvant therapy before definitive surgery had micrometastases at the time of diagnosis and at follow-up 3 months later. These results suggest that many of the micrometastases from breast cancer patients are the result of "shedding" of cells from the primary carcinoma and that a proportion are not viable. The technique is currently insufficiently sensitive to accurately monitor adjuvant therapy in breast cancer patients.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Medula Óssea
/
Neoplasias Ósseas
/
Neoplasias da Mama
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Clin Oncol
Ano de publicação:
1989
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido