Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026
Adaptation of Semiautomated Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Assays for Clinical and Preclinical Research Applications
Published on: February 28, 2014
Prevalence and Prognostic Implications of Circulating Tumor Cells Among Patients Undergoing Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
Mark Freeman1, Alicja Prawdzic Senkowska1, Rania Chehade2
1Department of Medicine, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Background:
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are frequently detected in patients with breast cancer, but key studies investigating their clinical significance in early-stage disease rely on less-sensitive methods for CTC detection.
Objective:
To evaluate the prevalence and prognostic implications of CTCs in patients undergoing NAC for early-stage breast cancer.
Design:
This was a single-center prospective cohort study. Patients with early-stage breast cancer who were planned to receive NAC were enrolled.
Methods:
CTCs were measured before NAC and again at least 4 weeks following definitive surgery using the Epic Sciences platform. Clinical, pathological, and treatment data were abstracted from electronic medical records and summarized.
Results:
A total of 40 patients comprised the analyzable study population. The median age at diagnosis was 53 years. Breast cancer subtypes included HER2+ (38%), hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative (HR+/HER2-, 32%), and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC, 25%). After a median follow-up of 39.8 months, only 5 patients (12%) had experienced disease recurrence. CTCs were detected in 82% of patients before treatment and 45% of patients after treatment (P = .001). All subgroups of patients had numerically lower rates of CTC prevalence post-treatment compared to pretreatment; subgroups in whom this difference was statistically significant included patients with TNBC (90% vs. 30%, P = .006), premenopausal patients (79% vs. 29%, P = .008), and patients who did not experience disease recurrence (80% vs. 43%, P = .001).
Conclusion:
CTCs are more prevalent both before and after NAC than had previously been reported. The clinical significance of their persistence warrants further investigation.
