TY - JOUR T1 - FTH1-Expressing Circulating Tumor Cells as Predictors of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response in Non-Metastatic Breast Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study A1 - Laura Beatrice Conti A1 - Martina Giulia Rinaldi A1 - Alessandro Fabbri A1 - Nicolo Romano A1 - Davide Lorenzo Greco A1 - Simone Paolo Marchetti JF - Archive of International Journal of Cancer and Allied Science JO - Arch Int J Cancer Allied Sci SN - 3108-4834 Y1 - 2024 VL - 4 IS - 2 DO - 10.51847/a6F8KUtMpS SP - 66 EP - 80 N2 - The link between specific circulating tumor cell (CTC) phenotypes or genotypes and the effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has not been clearly established. This investigation aimed to determine whether FTH1 gene–related CTCs (F-CTC), with or without epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, as well as their temporal variations, are associated with NAC outcomes in patients with non-metastatic breast cancer. A total of 120 patients with non-metastatic breast cancer scheduled for NAC were included. Detection of the FTH1 gene and EMT markers in CTCs was performed before NAC (T0), after two chemotherapy cycles (T1), and prior to surgery (T2). Binary logistic regression was applied to analyze the associations between different CTC subtypes and rates of pathological complete response (pCR) and breast-conserving surgery (BCS). The presence of ≥1 F-CTC in peripheral blood at T0 was identified as an independent predictor of pCR in patients with HER2-positive disease (odds ratio [OR] = 0.08, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01–0.98, P = .048). A decrease in F-CTC counts at T2 independently predicted a higher likelihood of BCS (OR = 4.54, 95% CI, 1.14–18.08, P = .03). Elevated F-CTC levels before NAC were associated with an unfavorable response to NAC. Continuous assessment of F-CTC may assist clinicians in tailoring individualized NAC strategies and facilitating BCS in patients with non-metastatic breast cancer. UR - https://smerpub.com/article/fth1-expressing-circulating-tumor-cells-as-predictors-of-neoadjuvant-chemotherapy-response-in-non-me-uh6x1bkotepmxos ER -