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Microscopic metastasis common after breast cancer treatmentBreast cancer news 3/10/2005 You may think that presence of breast cancer cells may be a rare occurrence after breast cancer treatment, but that is not the case as per a new research finding reported in International Journal of Cancer. This research shows that the majority of women with early-stage breast cancer have bone marrow involvement with microscopic breast cancer cell up to 4 years after diagnosis. This study which was published in the recent issue of the International Journal of Cancer looked for transcripts of cytokeratin 19, a cancer marker, in the blood and bone marrow of 131 women with breast cancer, most of whom had node-negative T1 disease (tumor size less than 2 cm). About half of the patients had microscopic involvement of the bone marrow prior to surgery. Of the 91 subjects who had repeat samples taken, 87% had evidence of metastatic disease at some point. This study demonstrated that in a substantial portion of patients, minimal residual disease persists, and that it is possible to monitor patients after breast surgery treatment using bone marrow aspirates. For more information read the following article. Reference: Int J Cancer 2005;114:94-100 |