%0 Journal Article
%T N-Cadherin mRNA Levels in Peripheral Blood Could Be a Potential Indicator of New Metastases in Breast Cancer: A Pilot Study.
%A Masuda T
%A Ueo H
%A Kai Y
%A Noda M
%A Hu Q
%A Sato K
%A Fujii A
%A Hayashi N
%A Tsuruda Y
%A Otsu H
%A Kuroda Y
%A Eguchi H
%A Ohno S
%A Mimori K
%A Ueo H
%J Int J Mol Sci
%V 21
%N 2
%D Jan 2020 14
%M 31947504
%F 6.208
%R 10.3390/ijms21020511
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>There is growing evidence that patients with metastatic breast cancer whose disease progresses from a new metastasis (NM) have a worse prognosis than that of patients whose disease progresses from a pre-existing metastasis. The aim of this pilot study is to identify a blood biomarker predicting NM in breast cancer.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>The expression of epithelial (cytokeratin 18/19) or mesenchymal (plastin-3, vimentin, and N-cadherin) markers in the peripheral blood (PB) of recurrent breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy with eribulin or S-1 was measured over the course of treatment by RT-qPCR. The clinical significance of preoperative N-cadherin expression in the PB or tumor tissues of breast cancer patients undergoing curative surgery was assessed by RT-qPCR or using public datasets. Finally, N-cadherin expression in specific PB cell types was assessed by RT-qPCR.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>The expression levels of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and vimentin were high in the NM cases, whereas that of the epithelial marker cytokeratin 18 was high in the pre-existing metastasis cases. High preoperative N-cadherin expression in PB or tumor tissues was significantly associated with poor recurrence-free survival. N-cadherin was expressed mainly in polymorphonuclear leukocytes in PB.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>N-cadherin mRNA levels in blood may serve as a novel prognostic biomarker predicting NM, including recurrence, in breast cancer patients.