DIsseminated tumor cells of luminal breast cancer patients .

Abstract

Introduction. There is ample evidence that disseminated tumor cells (DTC), which are found in the bone marrow (BM) of patients with breast cancer (BC), including early stages, are progenitors of subsequent distant metastasis. Therefore, BM-DTC represent an additional tool for understanding carcinogenesis and estimating prognosis. Nevertheless, the existing data are controversial. The purpose of the study – to determine the frequency of DTC detection in BM of patients with luminal BC and also its relationship with some clinical and immunophenotypic parameters. Materials and methods. BM bioptates of 65 luminal BC patients were analyzed for the presence of DTC by Attune Acoustic Focusing Cytometer. For the first time in Russia, the sensitivity of the DTC detection method in the BM to the level of 1 × 10–7 myelocaryocytes was increased. Results. In BM, DTC were detected in 40 % of patients, and this finding did not correlate with stage of BC and degree of malignancy. The level of CD8+ lymphocytes in patients with DTC in the BM was significantly lower and amounted to 39,2 % versus 48,1 % in patients without DTC (p = 0,011). The content of myelocaryocytes with DTC-positive status was 1,6 times lower than in the absence of DTC (р = 0,007). Other parameters of the myelogram did not differ significantly. Moreover, no significant correlations were found between the presence of DTC in BM and the breast tumor immunophenotype (HLA-I: p = 0,74; HLA-DR: p = 0,93; CD71: p = 0,46). Conclusion. The presence of BM-DTC is more interrelated with myelogram and subpopulation of BM lymphocytes than with the clinical characteristics of tumor.