Abstract
Surgeons have long been concerned that cancer may be disseminated by shedding of tumour cells into the bloodstream during surgery. Early claims that cancer operations induced an increase in the number of tumour cells shed into the circulation were subsequently discredited, and the issue has remained unresolved. We used immunocytochemistry for cytokeratins to detect tumour cells in effluent blood from breast carcinomas in 18 patients undergoing surgery. Tumour cells were detectable in 6/18 patients during surgery, in only one patient before operation and in none post-operatively (P = 0.025). Circulating cells were associated with vascular invasion within the primary tumour (P = 0.032). No cytokeratin-positive cells were found in blood from ten normal volunteers or four patients undergoing surgery for other breast conditions. These results confirm that cancer surgery in humans results in an increase in the shedding of tumour cells into the circulation. The implications for prognosis and practice should be determined by larger prospective studies.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Choy, A., McCulloch, P. Induction of tumour cell shedding into effluent venous blood breast cancer surgery. Br J Cancer 73, 79–82 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1996.14
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1996.14
This article is cited by
-
17-Year Follow-up of Comparing Mastoscopic and Conventional Axillary Dissection in Breast Cancer: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial
Advances in Therapy (2022)
-
Less micrometastatic risk related to circulating tumor cells after endoscopic breast cancer surgery compared to open surgery
BMC Cancer (2019)
-
Perioperative Stress, Inflammation, and Cancer Progression: Opportunities for Intervention in Breast and Colorectal Cancer Surgery Utilizing Beta-Adrenergic Blockade and COX-2 Inhibition
Current Anesthesiology Reports (2018)
-
Combined treatment with paclitaxel and suramin prevents the development of metastasis by inhibiting metastatic colonization of circulating tumor cells
Clinical & Experimental Metastasis (2014)
-
No evidence for shedding of circulating tumor cells to the peripheral venous blood as a result of mammographic breast compression
Breast Cancer Research and Treatment (2013)