This study evaluates the role of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19 (CK19), and maspin transcripts to identify breast cancer cells (BCC) in leukapheresis products (LP) collected from breast cancer (BC) patients and compares these results with those obtained using immunocytochemistry (IC). Eighty-four LP obtained from 33 patients with stage II-III BC and control subjects without BC were screened for the presence of BCC by IC and CK19, CEA, and maspin expression using RT-PCR. CEA RT-PCR and IC were the only specific markers, as no false positives were detected in any patients without BC. CK19 RT-PCR gave 11% false positives, whereas maspin RT-PCR with 25% was the most unspecific marker. In LP from BC patients, positive results were observed in 70% and 63% for CK19 and CEA RT-PCR, respectively. For maspin RT-PCR, this percentage was 22%, and for IC it was 17%. There was a good correlation between the CEA and CK19 RT-PCR (p = 0.018). No correlation between CEA and CK19 RT-PCR and IC was found, and although 5 of the 6 IC+ samples were CEA+/CK19+, great discrepancies in the group of IC- samples were observed. Our data suggest that RT-PCR assays for CEA and, to a lesser extent, for CK19 have more sensitivity and specificity than IC to detect BCC in LP.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/106161299320578DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

breast cancer
12
ck19 rt-pcr
12
rt-pcr
11
reverse-transcriptase polymerase
8
polymerase chain
8
chain reaction
8
reaction rt-pcr
8
carcinoembryonic antigen
8
leukapheresis products
8
ck19 cea
8

Similar Publications

Background: Screening of asymptomatic stage IV breast cancer with brain MRIs is currently not recommended by National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines. The incidence of asymptomatic brain metastasis is not well documented.

Methods: The study is designed as a single arm, phase II trial, with the goal of investigating surveillance brain MRIs in neurologically asymptomatic patients with metastatic breast cancer.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Today, cancer has become one of the leading global tragedies. It occurs when a small number of cells in the body mutate, causing some of them to evade the body's immune system and proliferate uncontrollably. Even more irritating is the fact that patients with cancers frequently relapse after conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy, leading to additional suffering.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is a malignancy with a high mortality rate and complex biological characteristics and heterogeneity, which poses challenges for clinical treatment. Anoikis is a type of programmed cell death that occurs when cells lose their attachment to the extracellular matrix (ECM), and it plays a crucial role in tumor metastasis. However, the specific biological link between anoikis and COAD, as well as its mechanisms in tumor progression, remains unclear, making it a potential new direction for therapeutic strategy research.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Oncolytic herpes simplex viruses (oHSVs) are a type of biotherapeutic utilized in cancer therapy due to their ability to selectively infect and destroy tumor cells without harming healthy cells. We sought to investigate the functional genomic response and altered metabolic pathways of human cancer cells to oHSV-1 infection and to elucidate the influence of these responses on the relationship between the virus and the cancer cells.

Methods: Two datasets containing gene expression profiles of tumor cells infected with oHSV-1 (G207) and non-infected cells from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were processed and normalized using the R software.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Breast cancer remains a leading cause of mortality among women, driven by the molecular complexity of its various subtypes. This study aimed to investigate the differential expression of genes and miRNAs involved in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, a critical regulator of cancer progression.

Methods: We analyzed tumor tissues from five breast cancer subtypes-luminal A, luminal B HER2-negative, luminal B HER2-positive, HER2-positive, and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)-and compared them with non-cancerous tissues.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!