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Updated: May 26, 2026
Monitoring Tumor Metastases and Osteolytic Lesions with Bioluminescence and Micro CT Imaging
Published on: April 14, 2011
Impaired bone microenvironment: correlation between bone density and presence of disseminated tumor cells
B Kraemer1, R Rothmund, M Banys
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Tuebingen, Calwerstrasse 7, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany.
Background:
Disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in bone marrow (BM) occur in 30-40% of primary breast cancer patients. An impaired bone microenvironment may lead to reduced bone density and osteoporosis affecting the BM as a homing site for DTCs. The bone mineral density (BMD) and its correlation to DTC in BM was evaluated.
Materials And Methods:
One hundred and eighty-one women (70 premenopausal, 111 postmenopausal) underwent quantitative ultrasonometry before adjuvant chemotherapy. BM aspirates were analyzed by immunocytochemistry using the ACIS system (Chromavision) based on immunostaining.
Results:
DTCs were detected in 39% of the patients. Positive BM status correlated significantly with the nodal status. BMD was significantly reduced in the postmenopausal patients (p=0.003). Smaller tumors and higher BMD correlated significantly (p<0.014). Fifty percent of the patients with preclinical osteoporosis were BM positive, whereas 37% with normal or osteopenic BMD had DTCs.
Conclusion:
An impaired bone micro-environment as found in preclinical osteoporosis might be a homing site for DTCs.
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