Research

Identification of circulating tumour cells in early stage breast cancer patients using multi marker immunobead RT-PCR

Michael P Raynor^1,2 , Sally-Anne Stephenson^1,2,3 , Kenneth B Pittman^1,2 , David CA Walsh⁴ , Michael A Henderson⁵ and Alexander Dobrovic^1,2,6,7

¹  Department of Haematology/Oncology, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia 5011, Australia

²  Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia 5011, Australia

³  Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia

⁴  Department of Surgery, University of Adelaide, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia 5011, Australia

⁵  Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Locked Bag 1, A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

⁶  Department of Pathology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Locked Bag 1, A'Beckett St, Melbourne, Victoria 8006, Australia

⁷  Department of Pathology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia

author email corresponding author email

Journal of Hematology & Oncology 2009, 2:24doi:10.1186/1756-8722-2-24

Published:	5 June 2009

Abstract

Introduction

The ability to screen blood of early stage operable breast cancer patients for circulating tumour cells is of potential importance for identifying patients at risk of developing distant relapse. We present the results of a study of the efficacy of the immunobead RT-PCR method in identifying patients with circulating tumour cells.

Results

Immunomagnetic enrichment of circulating tumour cells followed by RT-PCR (immunobead RT-PCR) with a panel of five epithelial specific markers (ELF3, EPHB4, EGFR, MGB1 and TACSTD1) was used to screen for circulating tumour cells in the peripheral blood of 56 breast cancer patients.

Twenty patients were positive for two or more RT-PCR markers, including seven patients who were node negative by conventional techniques. Significant increases in the frequency of marker positivity was seen in lymph node positive patients, in patients with high grade tumours and in patients with lymphovascular invasion. A strong trend towards improved disease free survival was seen for marker negative patients although it did not reach significance (p = 0.08).

Conclusion

Multi-marker immunobead RT-PCR analysis of peripheral blood is a robust assay that is capable of detecting circulating tumour cells in early stage breast cancer patients.