Commentary

Recent translational research: circulating tumor cells in breast cancer patients

Volkmar Müller¹, Daniel F Hayes² and Klaus Pantel³

¹  Department of Gynecology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany

²  Breast Oncology Program, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, 6312 Cancer Center, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0942, USA

³  Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany

author email corresponding author email

Breast Cancer Research 2006, 8:110doi:10.1186/bcr1541

Published:	31 August 2006

Abstract

In breast cancer patients, hematogenous tumor cell dissemination can be detected, even at the single cell level, by applying immunocytochemical and molecular assays. Various methods for the detection of circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood have been described. Results from recently reported studies suggest that circulating tumor cell levels may serve as a prognostic marker and for the early assessment of therapeutic response in patients with metastatic breast cancer. However, in early-stage breast cancer, the impact of circulating tumor cells is less well established than the presence of disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow; several clinical studies have demonstrated that cells of the latter type are an independent prognostic factor at primary diagnosis. In this article we briefly summarize recent studies examining the presence of circulating tumor cells in the blood and discuss further clinical applications.