doi: 10.5732/cjc.010.10239

MUC1-positive circulating tumor cells and MUC1 protein predict chemotherapeutic efficacy in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer

Jian-Ping Cheng, Ying Yan, Xiang-Yi Wang, Yuan-Li Lu, Yan-Hua Yuan, Jun Jia, Jun Ren

Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University School of Oncology, Department of Medical Oncology, Beijing Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, P. R. China. renjun@bjcancer.org.

[Abstract] Chemotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. It is important to monitor chemotherapeutic efficacy, to find a simple and efficient tool to guide treatment, and to predict the efficacy of treatment in a timely and accurate manner. This study aimed to detect mucin-1 (MUC1)-positive circulating tumor cells and MUC1 protein in the peripheral blood of patients with metastatic breast cancer and to investigate their relationship to chemotherapeutic efficacy. MUC1 mRNA was detected in the peripheral blood of 34 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The positive rates of MUC1 mRNA were 88.2% before chemotherapy and 70.6% after chemotherapy, without a significant difference (P = 0.564); MUC1 mRNA expression before chemotherapy had no correlation with treatment effectiveness (P = 0.281). The response rate of MUC1 mRNA-negative patients after first-cycle chemotherapy was significantly higher (P = 0.009) and the progression-free survival (PFS) was clearly longer than those of MUC1 mRNA-positive patients (P = 0.095). MUC1 protein in peripheral blood plasma was detected by an ELISA competitive inhibition assay. The patients with decreased MUC1 protein after chemotherapy had a significantly longer PFS than those with elevated MUC1 protein (P = 0.044). These results indicate that the outcomes of MUC1 mRNA-negative patients after chemotherapy are better than those of MUC1 mRNA-positive patients. In addition, patients with decreased expression of MUC1 protein have a better PFS.

Chinese Journal of Cancer 2011, Volume: 30, Issue 1, Page: 54-61

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Jian-Ping Cheng, Ying Yan, Xiang-Yi Wang, Yuan-Li Lu, Yan-Hua Yuan, Jun Jia, Jun Ren. MUC1-positive circulating tumor cells and MUC1 protein predict chemotherapeutic efficacy in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Chin J Cancer. 2011, 30(1):54-61. doi:10.5732/cjc.010.10239


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