Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39692703›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical laboratory analysis2025

Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells in the Prognostic Significance of Patients With Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Study.

Wanwen Xu, Feng Yuan

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical laboratory analysis, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Wanwen XuDepartment of Dermatology, Wuhan Third Hospital, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Feng YuanDepartment of Breast Surgery, Hubei Provincial Clinical Research Center for Breast Cancer, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4991-9161

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBreast cancer (BC) is an aggressive tumor. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are a potential biomarker for the prognosis of cancer patients. This study aimed to explore the prognostic significance of CTCs in patients with BC.

methodsRetrospectively, 108 BC patients were collected between January 2011 and December 2019, while 10 patients with benign nodules were included as controls. CTCs with different phenotypes of patients were isolated using CanPatrol and tricolor RNA in situ hybridization (RNA-ISH) methods. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) levels were measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The progression-free survival (PFS) was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Independent risk factors for BC recurrence were determined by Cox proportional risk regression analysis.

resultsThe higher the cancer stage (p = 0.00), the higher the ki-67 expression level (p < 0.01), and the lower the histologic grade (p < 0.01), the higher the number of CTCs. The PFS of patients with high CTCs was shorter than that of patients with low CTCs (p < 0.05). Total CTCs (≥ 6) and positive mesenchymal CTCs (MCTCs) were also associated with recurrence and metastasis.

conclusionsTotal CTCs in BC patients have an independent influence on PFS reduction. Higher total CTCs and MCTCs in peripheral blood are biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of BC patients. HER-2 high expression is also associated with the prognosis of the disease.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsNeoplastic Cells, CirculatingAdultAgedBiomarkers, TumorErb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine KinasesFemaleHumansKaplan-Meier EstimateMiddle AgedPrognosisRetrospective StudiesBiomarkers, TumorErb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinasesbreast cancercirculating tumor cellsmetastasisprogression‐free survivalrecurrencetriple negative breast cancer

Identifiers

PMID39692703
PMCPMC11737110

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