Relapse-free survival in breast cancer patients is associated with a gene expression signature characteristic for inflammatory breast cancer.

Purpose: We hypothesize that a gene expression profile characteristic for inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), an aggressive form of breast cancer associated with rapid cancer dissemination and poor survival, might be related to tumor aggressiveness in non-IBC (nIBC).

Experimental Design: RNA from 17 IBC samples and 40 nIBC samples was hybridized onto Affymetrix chips. A gene signature predictive of IBC was identified and applied onto 1,157 nIBC samples with survival data of 881 nIBC samples.

Detection of circulating tumour cells in blood by quantitative real-time RT-PCR: effect of pre-analytical time.

Background: We and others have recently explored the use of quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis for the detection of circulating tumour cells in blood of patients with breast cancer (BC). One major problem in these experiments is the in vitro instability of the cellular RNA. The copy number of mRNA can change during storage and transport at room temperature and this may hamper accurate quantitative measurements of specific transcripts, especially when working with small numbers of target mRNAs.

Prognostic significance of disseminated tumor cells as detected by quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in patients with breast cancer.

Background: In this study we have validated the feasibility of detecting disseminated tumor cells (DTC) by real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Bone marrow samples from a large cohort of patients with breast cancer were analyzed for the presence of DTC by immunocytochemistry (ICC) or a molecular-based method.

Patients And Methods: Bone marrow samples were collected from 170 patients with breast cancer with stage I-IV disease before the initiation of any local or systemic treatment.

Nuclear factor-kappaB signature of inflammatory breast cancer by cDNA microarray validated by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and nuclear factor-kappaB DNA-binding.

Purpose: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is the most aggressive form of locally advanced breast cancer with high metastatic potential. In a previous study, we showed that IBC is a different form of breast cancer compared with non-IBC by cDNA microarray analysis. A list of 756 genes with significant expression differences between IBC and non-IBC was identified.

Relative microvessel area of the primary tumour, and not lymph node status, predicts the presence of bone marrow micrometastases detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in patients with clinically non-metastatic breast cancer.

About 50% of patients with breast cancer have no involvement of axillary lymph nodes at diagnosis and can be considered cured after primary locoregional treatment. However, about 20-30% will experience distant relapse. The group of patients at risk is not well characterised: recurrence is probably due to the establishment of micrometastases before treatment.