Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jul;97(28):e11417.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000011417.

Predictive value of circulating cell-free DNA in the survival of breast cancer patients: A systemic review and meta-analysis

Jing Yang  1 , Li Cheng, Jing Zhang, Linyan Chen, Denian Wang, Xinli Guo, Xuelei Ma
Affiliations
Review

Predictive value of circulating cell-free DNA in the survival of breast cancer patients: A systemic review and meta-analysis

Jing Yang et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose: Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) has been reported to predict outcomes in patients with various types of cancer. However, its prognostic value in patients with breast cancer is not well established still now. In this meta-analysis, we evaluated the prognostic role of cfDNA in breast cancer patients.

Methods: We performed systematic searches in electronic databases to identify studies that evaluated the prognostic value of cfDNA in breast cancer patients. The end points were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were extracted to assess the prognostic significance of cfDNA. Subgroup analyses were also conducted.

Results: A total of 11 publications involving 1467 patients were included in this meta-analysis. cfDNA was shown to be significantly associated with PFS (HR 2.02, 95% CI 1.51-2.72, P < .001, I = 82%) and OS (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.01-3.05, P < .001, I = 92%). The results of subgroup analyses also revealed that cfDNA was a good predictor of prognosis in breast cancer patients.

Conclusion: Our meta-analysis indicated that cfDNA was associated with poor PFS and OS, thus it may help to predict outcomes of patients with breast cancer. However, further studies are needed to confirm our results.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Literature search strategy and selection of study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot of pooled hazard ratio (HR) for the impact of cfDNA on PFS (A) and OS (B) in breast cancer patients.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Subgroup analysis of PFS studies stratified according to the assay indicators. (A) ESR1, (B) TP-53, (C) LOH, (D) PIK3CA, (E) Other assay indicators.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Torre LA, Bray F, Siegel RL, et al. Global cancer statistics, 2012. CA Cancer J Clin 2015;65:87–108. - PubMed
    1. Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG). Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on recurrence and 15-year survival: an overview of the randomised trials. Lancet 2005; 365(9472):1687–1717. - PubMed
    1. Coughlin SS, Ekwueme DU. Breast cancer as a global health concern. Cancer Epidemiol 2009;33:315–8. - PubMed
    1. Cardoso F, Castiglione M. Locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer: ESMO clinical recommendations for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol 2009;20(suppl 4):15–8. - PubMed
    1. Donepudi MS, Kondapalli K, Amos SJ, et al. Breast cancer statistics and markers. J Cancer Res Ther 2014;10:506–11. - PubMed