Trial reportClinical breast cancer2013
A randomized phase II trial investigating the effect of platelet function inhibition on circulating tumor cells in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Trial report in Clinical breast cancer, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Anti-Metastatic Role of Aspirin in Cancer: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Aspirin use for cancer prevention: A systematic review of public, patient and healthcare provider attitudes and adherence behaviours.Preventive medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Circulating tumor cell status monitors the treatment responses in breast cancer patients: a meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2017Pooled it
- The effect of aspirin on circulating tumor cells in metastatic colorectal and breast cancer patients: a phase II trial study.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2018Trial
- Platelet-neutrophil cooperation in cancer: mechanisms of metastatic niche formation and implications for prognostic stratification and therapy.Cellular oncology (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2026Review
- Unveiling the "Dark Matter" of platelet involvement in tumor microenvironment.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2025Review
- Advances and potentials in platelet-circulating tumor cell crosstalk.American journal of cancer research · 2025Review
- The combined detection of hematological indicators is used for the differential diagnosis of colorectal cancer and benign-colorectal lesions.Cancer biomarkers : section A of Disease markers · 2024Article
- Targeting Platelet Activation Pathways to Limit Tumour Progression: Current State of Affairs.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Article
- Inflammatory cell-associated tumors. Not only macrophages (TAMs), fibroblasts (TAFs) and neutrophils (TANs) can infiltrate the tumor microenvironment. The unique role of tumor associated platelets (TAPs).Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII · 2021Review
- Antiplatelet Therapy Combined with Anastrozole Induces Features of Partial EMT in Breast Cancer Cells and Fails to Mitigate Breast-Cancer Induced Hypercoagulation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Article
- Motivation for Launching a Cancer Metastasis Inhibition (CMI) Program.Targeted oncology · 2018Review
- Platelet Metabolism and Other Targeted Drugs; Potential Impact on Immunotherapy.Frontiers in oncology · 2018Review
- Platelets: an outlook from biology through evidence-based achievements in critical care.Annals of translational medicine · 2017Review
- Targeting Platelets for the Treatment of Cancer.Cancers · 2017Review
- EMT: Present and future in clinical oncology.Molecular oncology · 2017Review
- Antiplatelet agents for cancer treatment: a real perspective or just an echo from the past?Cancer metastasis reviews · 2017Article
- The Clinical Importance of Measurement of Hematological Indices in the Breast Cancer Survivals: A Comparison Between Premenopausal and Postmenopausal Women.World journal of oncology · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBlockade of platelet activation and aggregation can inhibit metastasis in preclinical models and is associated with cancer prevention. To test whether disruption of platelet function with clopidogrel and aspirin would decrease the number of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in patients with metastatic breast cancer, a randomized phase II study was performed.
methodsPatients with metastatic breast cancer who were not currently receiving cytotoxic chemotherapy were eligible. Patients were randomized to receive either clopidogrel and aspirin or to a control group receiving no treatment. Phlebotomy was performed at baseline, at 2 and 4 weeks, and monthly thereafter to obtain specimens to assess CTC, platelet aggregation, and thrombin activity. The primary end point was the proportion of patients with detectable CTCs at 1 month.
resultsForty-eight patients were enrolled and 42 were evaluable at 1 month. Baseline CTC numbers were ≥ 5 in 13% and ≥ 1 in 65% of patients. Despite adequate platelet function inhibition in the treatment group, the proportion of patients with detectable CTCs was similar between the clopidogrel/aspirin and control groups at baseline (P = .21) and 4 weeks (P = .75), showing no treatment effect. Measured endogenous thrombin potential did not correlate with CTC number. No bleeding-related serious adverse events (SAEs) occurred.
conclusionThe baseline CTC numbers were lower than expected, decreasing the ability to detect an impact of platelet inhibition on CTCs. Clopidogrel and aspirin were well tolerated. Future studies evaluating the potential therapeutic role of antiplatelet therapy in breast cancer remain of interest, and they may be informed by these results.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.