Use of the CTC Count in Treatment Decisions for Metastatic Breast Cancer

Progression-free survival was noninferior when the first-line treatment decision was based on circulating tumor cell count compared with clinician choice.

The circulating tumor cell (CTC) count has long been recognized as a prognostic factor in metastatic breast cancer. Clinicians face a clinical dilemma in patients with hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer: to start with chemotherapy or endocrine therapy. Whether treatment decisions can be made based on CTC count alone is an ongoing subject of investigation. In 2014, investigators for the randomized SWOG S0500 study reported that compared to standard management, CTC-based management did not lead to improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (J Clin Oncol 2014 32:3483).

Now, investigators report results from a French noninferiority clinical trial (STIC CTC) comparing treatment based on CTC co…

Reviewing Author

William J. Gradishar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead

Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation

Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)