Serum DNA methylation for monitoring response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

ABSTRACT: Patients with large or nonoperable breast cancers often receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy to facilitate full resection of the tumor and enable conservation of the breast. However, currently available methods for evaluation of response during therapy are limited and the actual effect of the treatment is only recognized at surgery upon completion of chemotherapy. Timely assessment of response could allow individual tailoring of the treatment and save noneffective drugs and unnecessary toxicity. Here, we suggest that tumor derived DNA methylation in the serum may reflect changes in tumor burden and allow early recognition of responders versus nonresponders. In this pilot study, we collected 7 consecutive serum samples from 52 patients with locally advanced breast cancer during neoadjuvant chem

SUBMITTER: Avraham A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3904188 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature