Webster D R, Sabbadini E
Can Med Assoc J. 1967 Jan 21;96(3):129-31.
One hundred and sixteen patients with proved cancer of the breast were followed up for five years to detect circulating tumour cells. Such cells were found in 61 patients, but, irrespective of the stage of the disease, the five-year survival rate in these was not significantly different from those in whom no tumour cells were found. The higher incidence of patients without circulating tumour cells in Stage I was not sufficient to influence the survival rate of the whole group. While the validity of the identification of these cells is questionable, the results of this study indicate that the presence or absence of tumour cells in the blood is of no prognostic significance.
对116例确诊为乳腺癌的患者进行了为期五年的随访，以检测循环肿瘤细胞。在61例患者中发现了此类细胞，但无论疾病处于何种阶段，这些患者的五年生存率与未发现肿瘤细胞的患者相比并无显著差异。I期患者中无循环肿瘤细胞的发生率较高，但不足以影响整个组的生存率。虽然这些细胞识别的有效性存在疑问，但本研究结果表明，血液中肿瘤细胞的存在与否并无预后意义。
