Impact of flow cytometry on predicting recurrence and survival in breast cancer patients

Abstract

The prime importance of axillary node status in predicting recurrence and survival has been appreciated for a long time. More recently routine measurements of estrogen and progesterone receptors have added to our prognostic abilities. The next generation of prognostic markers to be used in the routine clinical setting will be measures of tumor aggressiveness which will prompt therapeutic decisions. The technique of flow cytometry can provide clinicians with two new important pieces of information. First, it gives a measurement of the percentage of cells in S phase of the DNA replicative cycle, in other words, how fast a tumor is growing. Second, it assesses the aneuploidy, or total amount of extra DNA in the tumor cell, which appears to correlate with malignant aggressive tumor behavior.

In this teleconference, the panelists discuss the kinetic and background considerations leading up to flow cytometry measurements in tumor cells. They evaluate currently available correlations with patient outcome, and assess whether the technique is sufficiently mature for use in certain clinical circumstances in the near future.