Abstract
To shed light on the clinical role of HER2 status in serum as extracellular domain (ECD) and corresponding circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in metastatic breast cancer patients. 68 patients were analyzed. Serum HER2 was determined by ADVIA Centaur(®) Serum HER2 test. CellSearch System was performed for CTC quantification. HER2 was overexpressed in 21 primary tumors. In total, 19 patients had ECD >15 ng/ml (the cut-off used), 48 patients had at least one CTC. ECD positivity was associated with CTC number (p = 0.01), HER2-positive CTC (p = 0.01) and the ratio HER2-positive CTC/total CTC (p = 0.02). ECD was not associated with survival. ECD in combination with HER2 CTC status would deserve further investigation in larger series for addressing its putative prognostic relevance.
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