1618PASSESSING THE PRESENCE OF CIRCULATING TUMOR CELLS IN BREAST CANCER PATIENTS USING MULTIPLEX REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND SPECIFIC PRIMERS FOR MAMMAGLOBIN, PTHRP AND CK19

Abstract Aim: The aim of this study was to develop a multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for the detection of circulating tumor cells in peripheral blood of patients with breast cancer. Methods: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 54 breast cancer patients and 20 healthy blood donors. Subsequently, the samples processed for RNA extraction and then were analyzed for the expression of PTHrP, CK19 and Mammaglobin using specific primers and multiplex PCR. Results: The detection rates in breast cancer patients for PTHrP, CK19 and Mammaglobin were 68.5%, 63% and 22.2% and for healthy donors 10%, 0% and 10%., respectively. The statistical analysis revealed that PTHrP, CK19 and their combination could be used for diagnosing breast cancer. The combination of positive detection rates of PTHrP with CK19 correlated with the presence of distant metastasis in patients with breast cancer, especially with bone metastasis. Moreover, positive detection rates of CK19 correlated with high proliferation rate of breast cancer Conclusions: Multiplex-PCR based detection of circulating tumor cells can provide useful information for the disease stage and presence of metastasis in breast cancer patients. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.