ArticleTechnology in cancer research & treatment
Prognostic and Predictive Value of Circulating and Disseminated Tumor Cells in Breast Cancer: A National Cancer Database (NCDB) Analysis.
Article in Technology in cancer research & treatment. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Liquid biopsy in breast cancer: clinical implications of ctDNA and CTCs in diagnosis, treatment and monitoring.Molecular and cellular biochemistry · 2025Review
- Review
- Liquid biopsy in breast cancer: Redefining precision medicine.The journal of liquid biopsy · 2025Review
- Microfluidic isolation and release of live disseminated breast tumor cells in bone marrow.PloS one · 2025Article
- Association between disseminated cancer and postoperative 30-day mortality in adult patients with brain tumor craniotomy.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Searching for the "Holy Grail" of breast cancer recurrence risk: a narrative review of the hunt for a better biomarker and the promise of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA).Breast cancer research and treatment · 2024Review
- Role of circulating tumor DNA and circulating tumor cells in breast cancer: History and updates.SAGE open medicine · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
importanceOur understanding of the utility of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) as clinical biomarkers continues to evolve.
objectiveThis study evaluated (1) clinicopathologic factors associated with the presence of CTCs or DTCs, (2) the prognostic value of CTCs or DTCs by disease stage, 3), the value of these biomarkers in predicting the benefit of chemotherapy.
designThis is a retrospective analysis of patients with breast cancer (BC) diagnosed between 2004 and 2016 using the National Cancer Database (NCDB). To evaluate variables associated with the presence of CTCs or DTCs at the univariate level, we used chi-squared and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Multivariate logistic regression models were then constructed using significant variables. Consequently, we included CTC or DTC status (i.e. positive or negative) in multivariate, stage-by-stage Cox regression analyses for overall survival (OS). After stratifying by receptor status and staging, we used the Kaplan-Meier method to explore chemotherapy efficacy in CTC- or DTC-positive vs. CTC- or DTC-negative subsets.
resultsFactors significantly associated with CTCs were race, progesterone receptor status, HER2 status, histology and AJCC N- and M-staging. Factors associated with DTCs were race, HER2 status, histology and AJCC N-staging. CTCs were associated with poor OS in late-stage (III and IV) but not early-stage (0-II) BC. DTCs were not significantly associated with OS in either context. In hormone receptor (HR)-positive disease, chemotherapy was associated with better OS when CTC status was positive, both in early-stage and late-stage disease. In a subset of patients without CTCs, however, chemotherapy conferred no survival benefit. DTC status was not a significant predictor of chemotherapy efficacy in early or late-stage, HR+ disease.
conclusionsThis study suggests that CTC-status is a significant prognostic factor at later stages of BC; yet it can also help guide management of early-stage disease as it appears predictive for chemotherapy benefit.
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