PMID: 16507415Mar 2, 2006Paper

The value of bone marrow aspirates culture for the detection of bone marrow micrometastasis in breast cancer

Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy = Biomédecine & Pharmacothérapie
W T Y LooL W C Chow

Abstract

Detection of micrometastasis is an important problem of clinical significance for a better understanding and control of tumor progression, which will improve patients' survival time. Tumor cells in bone marrow (BM) aspirates are indicative of the general disseminative metastasis in patients with early breast cancer and characterization of breast cancers by various tumor markers which are appropriate for the identification of high risk groups. Bone marrow aspirates were obtained from 44 breast cancer patients at the time of surgery. To identify micrometastases in bone marrow, an immunocytochemical assay for epithelial cytokeratin (CK) was performed at the second passage after selective culture. Cytokeratin-positive bone marrow disseminated cancer cells were observed in more than 90% of the patients. This high incidence needs further investigation with bigger sample size to confirm. However, these results indicate that this technique can be used as an early diagnostic technique of bone marrow micrometastases in the patient with breast cancer thereby promoting the development of therapeutic strategy. High incidences need further investigation with bigger samples to confirm.

References


❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jun 26, 2008·PloS One·Kelly E CorcoranPranela Rameshwar

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Breast Invasive Carcinoma

Invasive breast cancers indicate a spread into breast tissues and lymph nodes. Here are the latest discoveries pertaining to breast invasive carcinomas.

Bone Marrow Neoplasms

Bone Marrow Neoplasms are cancers that occur in the bone marrow. Discover the latest research on Bone Marrow Neoplasms here.

Carcinoma, Ductal

Ductal carcinoma is a malignant neoplasm involving the ductal systems of any of a number of organs, such as the mammary glands, pancreas, prostate or lacrimal gland. Discover the latest research on ductal carcinoma here.

Breast Invasive Carcinoma (Keystone)

Invasive breast cancers indicate a spread into breast tissues and lymph nodes. Here are the latest discoveries pertaining to breast invasive carcinomas.