Department of Medical Oncology, West German Cancer Center, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstrasse 55, 45122, Essen, Germany,
J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2015 Jan;141(1):87-92. doi: 10.1007/s00432-014-1784-2. Epub 2014 Aug 10.
Male breast cancer (MBC) is a rare malignant disease, accounting for <1% of all breast cancers (BCs). Treatment of men with early-stage BC is based on standards established in female BC. Prognostic or predictive markers to guide therapeutic decisions, in particular in early-stage male BC, are missing. Here, we explored whether disseminated tumor cells (DTC) in bone marrow (BM) and circulating tumor cells (CTC) in blood could be suitable biomarkers in male BC.
Five male patients (pT2-4, pN0-2, M0) with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, and ductal primary BC (median age 70 years, range 51-73) were enrolled in a prospective study of patients with early-stage breast cancer. Here, we analyze the male subgroup. DTC in BM were analyzed before therapy and identified by immunocytochemistry using the pancytokeratin antibody A45B/B3. Blood samples (10 ml) were analyzed for CTC using the AdnaTest BreastCancer (AdnaGen AG, Langenhagen, Germany).
DTC were found in three out of five male patients (60%) with two DTC detected in one patient and one DTC detected in each of the other two patients. This is compared to a detection rate of 25-40% in pooled analyses of female patients. CTC were only found in one of five patients. After a median follow-up time of 3 years (range 1-10 years), all patients were still alive and free of relapse.
The prevalence of DTC and CTC in male BC seems comparable with female BC. No prognostic relevance could be documented in this small population. A prospective study or at least larger cases series will be required to assess the prognostic or predictive value of DTC and CTC in this rare disease.
男性乳腺癌（MBC）是一种罕见的恶性疾病，占所有乳腺癌（BC）的<1%。早期男性 BC 的治疗基于女性 BC 建立的标准。缺乏指导治疗决策的预后或预测标志物，特别是在早期男性 BC 中。在这里，我们探讨了骨髓（BM）中的播散性肿瘤细胞（DTC）和血液中的循环肿瘤细胞（CTC）是否可以作为男性 BC 的合适生物标志物。
五名男性患者（pT2-4，pN0-2，M0）患有激素受体阳性、HER2 阴性和导管原发性 BC（中位年龄 70 岁，范围 51-73 岁），他们被纳入早期乳腺癌患者的前瞻性研究中。在这里，我们分析男性亚组。在治疗前通过使用泛细胞角蛋白抗体 A45B/B3 进行免疫细胞化学分析来分析 BM 中的 DTC。使用 AdnaTest BreastCancer（AdnaGen AG，朗根哈根，德国）分析 10 ml 血液样本中的 CTC。
在五名男性患者中有三名（60%）发现了 DTC，一名患者检测到两个 DTC，另外两名患者各检测到一个 DTC。这与女性患者汇总分析中 25-40%的检出率相比。在五名患者中只有一名患者发现了 CTC。在中位随访时间 3 年（范围 1-10 年）后，所有患者仍然存活且无复发。
男性 BC 中 DTC 和 CTC 的发生率似乎与女性 BC 相当。在这个小人群中，没有发现预后相关性。需要进行前瞻性研究或至少更大的病例系列研究，以评估 DTC 和 CTC 在这种罕见疾病中的预后或预测价值。
