Bone Marrow Tests May Predict Breast Cancer Relapse
Feb. 23, 2000 (Washington) -- Each year, nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Most will undergo some type of surgery, and their lymph glands will be examined to determine if the cancer has spread. No sign of cancer cells in the lymph nodes, particularly the so-called sentinel node, which is the first node in the lymph node chain and the one closest to the cancer, usually signals good news and improved chances for becoming cancer-free.
But not all women whose nodes appear to be free of breast cancer do well long-term, and sometimes women who have cancer cells in the lymph system survive longer than those who don't. Now German researchers have found a new test that may help identify women who are at high risk of relapse. Their study, published in the Feb. 24 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, shows that women whose bone marrow had evidence of cytokeratin, a protein made by certain cancer cells, were up to four times more likely to die of cancer-related causes than women who did not have the protein.
"We believe that this is a promising result because it helps us better define risk for patients," says Wolfgang Janni, MD. "We think it might have a significant impact on breast cancer [treatment]." Janni is a faculty member of Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.
In this study, bone marrow was obtained from 552 women, who were an average of 56 years old, and had various stages of breast cancer. Bone marrow was also taken from 191 patients who had benign tumors or were cancer-free. The samples were then checked for cytokeratin.
Of the 552 women with breast cancer, 36% had cytokeratin present in the bone marrow. Less than half of these women also had cancer in their lymph nodes. During the follow-up period, which ranged from 10 to 70 months, 25% of the women with cytokeratin died of cancer-related causes, compared with only 6% of the women who did not have cytokeratin in their bone marrow. In the group of women without cancer, bone marrow inspection did show that two tested positive for cytokeratin.
Bone Marrow Tests May Predict Breast Cancer Relapse
Feb. 23, 2000 (Washington) -- Each year, nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Most will undergo some type of surgery, and their lymph glands will be examined to determine if the cancer has spread. No sign of cancer cells in the lymph nodes, particularly the so-called sentinel node, which is the first node in the lymph node chain and the one closest to the cancer, usually signals good news and improved chances for becoming cancer-free.
But not all women whose nodes appear to be free of breast cancer do well long-term, and sometimes women who have cancer cells in the lymph system survive longer than those who don't. Now German researchers have found a new test that may help identify women who are at high risk of relapse. Their study, published in the Feb. 24 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, shows that women whose bone marrow had evidence of cytokeratin, a protein made by certain cancer cells, were up to four times more likely to die of cancer-related causes than women who did not have the protein.
"We believe that this is a promising result because it helps us better define risk for patients," says Wolfgang Janni, MD. "We think it might have a significant impact on breast cancer [treatment]." Janni is a faculty member of Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany.
In this study, bone marrow was obtained from 552 women, who were an average of 56 years old, and had various stages of breast cancer. Bone marrow was also taken from 191 patients who had benign tumors or were cancer-free. The samples were then checked for cytokeratin.
Of the 552 women with breast cancer, 36% had cytokeratin present in the bone marrow. Less than half of these women also had cancer in their lymph nodes. During the follow-up period, which ranged from 10 to 70 months, 25% of the women with cytokeratin died of cancer-related causes, compared with only 6% of the women who did not have cytokeratin in their bone marrow. In the group of women without cancer, bone marrow inspection did show that two tested positive for cytokeratin.
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