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

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目及 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 乳腺癌治愈的最佳机会是在尽可能早的阶段发现和治疗恶性肿瘤，并给予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有可能大大改善患者的预后。 手术切除原发性肿瘤后，给予全身辅助治疗以消除扩散到乳房外的所有乳腺癌细胞的生长。 目前，对哪些患者最有可能在乳房外残留癌症进行了有根据的猜测。 这种猜测是基于原发肿瘤的大小以及癌细胞是否存在于乳房周围的淋巴结中。 开发一种测试，可以更好地识别那些在体内但在乳房外携带癌细胞的患者，有可能改善患者的预后。 本研究的目的是1）确定检测血液和骨髓中癌细胞的方法的有效性，2）评估每种方法的灵敏度，3）估计乳腺癌患者在疾病的不同阶段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.