RNA-Based CTC Analysis Provides Prognostic Information in Metastatic Breast Cancer
1
Analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells Lab, Department of Chemistry, University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece
2
Medical Oncology Unit, “Elena Venizelou” Hospital, 11521 Athens, Greece
3
Metropolitan General Hospital, 15562 Athens, Greece
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Rita Zamarchi
Diagnostics 2021, 11(3), 513; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11030513
Received: 17 February 2021
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Revised: 8 March 2021
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Accepted: 12 March 2021
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Published: 14 March 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Novel Class of Biomarkers: Novelties and Criticisms about Liquid Biopsy in Solid Tumors)
In metastatic breast cancer (MBC) the molecular characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) provides a unique tool to understand metastasis-biology and therapy-resistance. We evaluated the prognostic significance of gene expression in EpCAM(+) CTCs in 46 MBC patients based on a long follow-up. We selected a panel consisting of stem cell markers (CD24, CD44, ALDH1), the mesenchymal marker TWIST1, receptors (ESR1, PGR, HER2, EGFR) and the epithelial marker CK-19. Singleplex RT-qPCR was used for TWIST1 and CK-19 and multiplex RT-qPCR for stem cell markers and receptors. A group of 19 healthy donors (HD) was used as control. Univariate (p = 0.001) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.002) revealed the prognostic value of combined gene expression of CK-19(+), CD44high/CD24low, ALDH1high/CD24low and HER2 over-expression for overall survival (OS). The Kaplan–Meier estimates of OS were significantly different in patients positive for CK-19 (p = 0.028), CD44high/CD24low (p = 0.002), ALDH1high/CD24low (p = 0.007) and HER2-positive (p = 0.022). Our results indicate that combined gene expression analysis in EpCAM(+) CTCs provides prognostic information in MBC.
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Keywords:
liquid biopsy; circulating tumor cells; gene expression; metastatic breast cancer; multiplex RT-qPCR; prognostic marker
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MDPI and ACS Style
Strati, A.; Nikolaou, M.; Georgoulias, V.; Lianidou, E.S. RNA-Based CTC Analysis Provides Prognostic Information in Metastatic Breast Cancer. Diagnostics 2021, 11, 513. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11030513
AMA Style
Strati A, Nikolaou M, Georgoulias V, Lianidou ES. RNA-Based CTC Analysis Provides Prognostic Information in Metastatic Breast Cancer. Diagnostics. 2021; 11(3):513. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11030513
Chicago/Turabian StyleStrati, Areti, Michail Nikolaou, Vassilis Georgoulias, and Evi S. Lianidou. 2021. "RNA-Based CTC Analysis Provides Prognostic Information in Metastatic Breast Cancer" Diagnostics 11, no. 3: 513. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11030513
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