DETECTION OF MICROMETASTATIC CANCER CELLS IN BLOOD/BONE MARROW -BREAST CANCER

这个子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心拨款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和调查员(PI)可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可能会出现在其他CRISE条目中。列出的机构是针对中心的，而不一定是针对调查员的机构。乳腺癌治愈的最好机会是在尽可能早的阶段发现和治疗恶性肿瘤，并实施适当的手术和辅助治疗。开发一种可以有效识别早期癌症的测试方法有可能极大地改善患者的预后。在手术切除原发肿瘤后，实施全身辅助治疗，以消除所有扩散到乳房外的乳腺癌细胞的生长。目前，一个有根据的猜测是，哪些患者最有可能出现位于乳房以外的残留癌症。这一猜测是基于原发肿瘤的大小以及乳房周围的淋巴结中是否存在癌细胞。开发一种测试，可以更好地识别那些体内但乳房外有癌细胞的患者，有可能改善患者的预后。这项研究的目的是1)确定检测血液和骨髓中癌细胞的方法的有效性，2)评估每种方法的敏感性，以及3)估计不同疾病阶段乳腺癌患者血液和骨髓中癌细胞的患病率。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The best chance for cure of breast cancer occurs when malignancies are detected and treated at the earliest possible stage and appropriate surgical and adjuvant therapies are administered. Developing a test which could effectively identify early stage cancers has the potential to greatly improve patient outcomes. Following surgical resection of the primary tumor, systemic adjuvant therapy is administered to eliminate growth of all breast cancer cells that have spread outside of the breast. Currently, an educated guess is made as to which patients are most likely to have residual cancer located outside the breast. This guess is based on the size of the primary tumor and whether cancer cells are present in lymph nodes around the breast. Developing a test that could better identify those patients harboring cancer cells in their body, but outside the breast, has the potential to improve patient outcomes. The objectives of this study are to 1) Determine the efficacy of the methods for detecting cancer cells in the blood and bone marrow, 2) Assess the sensitivity of each method, and 3) Estimate the prevalence of cancer cells in the blood and bone marrow of breast cancer patients at different stages of the disease.