Menarini Silicon Biosystems, Bologna, Italy, and Huntingdon Valley, Penn, has announced the findings of a novel study demonstrating that the detection of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), a form of liquid biopsy, holds promise as a key tool for developing a staging system with significant potential to affect the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC).
The pooled analysis study of CTCs—the largest investigation of its kind to date—showed that CTC count is useful for identifying a group of patients with an indolent form of MBC who would benefit from more-conservative treatment rather than aggressive therapy, potentially reducing both side-effects and cost.
Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, FACP, Northwestern University.
The study was performed using Menarini’s FDA-cleared Cellsearch system for CTC testing, and was reported at the 2018 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.1
“Our study found that there are 60% of MBC patients for which the disease may not be immediately aggressive,” says study coauthor Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, FACP, associate director for translational research at the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern University. “This analysis suggests that CTC testing can complement standard imaging studies and provide an even more accurate and sensitive method for staging patients with advanced breast cancer.”
CTCs are cancer cells that are released and disseminated into the bloodstream and lymphatic system by advanced cancers. A liquid biopsy detects circulating tumor markers (CTCs, ctDNA, and exosomes) in blood samples as a minimally invasive alternative to solid tumor biopsy, which is particularly useful when suspected cancer tissue is not accessible.
Bob Roda, Menarini Silicon Biosystems.
Cellsearch is a clinically validated and FDA-cleared blood test for detecting and enumerating CTCs to help physicians manage patients with metastatic breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers.
“There is already a substantial amount of data demonstrating that the Cellsearch CTC test provides clinically useful information,” says Bob Roda, president and CEO of Menarini Silicon Biosystems. “This latest study could have a profound clinical and economic impact on healthcare systems.”
Research associated with the Cellsearch system includes citations in more than 450 peer-reviewed publications, and clinical data from 28 independent prospective studies involving more than 4,700 patients, validating its clinical utility for predicting progression-free survival and overall survival, both before and after therapy initiation.
Cellsearch CTC testing, performed at a reference laboratory, can be used throughout treatment to monitor patient prognosis.
To learn more, visit Menarini Silicon Biosystems.
Reference
- Davis AA, Pierga JY, Dirix LY, et al. The impact of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) detection in metastatic breast cancer (MBC): implications of ‘indolent’ stage IV disease (Stage IVindolent) [abstract 1019 and eposter]. Poster 100 presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Chicago, June 1–5, 2018. Available at: https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/158543/abstract. Accessed June 25, 2018.
Featured image: Circulating tumor cells are cancer cells that are released and disseminated into the bloodstream and lymphatic system by advanced cancers such as metastatic breast cancer. Illustration courtesy Menarini Silicon Biosystems.
