Circulating Tumor Cell and Regulator T-Lymphocyte in Core Biopsy for Breast Cancer

Introduction. Core biopsy is one of the modalities used in breast cancer diagnosis, with a 91-99% sensitivity and specificity of 96-100%. The procedure causes tumor tissue damage to let tumor cells to enter circulation (CTC) and provoke the infiltration of inflammatory cells. Consider the side effect of core biopsy, the procedure to be debatable/contradicting opinions. Based on this premise, this study aims to investigate Tregs and CTC count in the core biopsy procedure. Method. A study enrolled 32 blood sample from patients of Stage III and IV breast cancer who proceed core biopsy during August to December 2016. A consecutive sampling method employed in this study. Blood specimens taken two weeks before and after the procedure, and subjected to analyze of Tregs (CD4, CD25, FoxP3) and CTC count (CK19) using flow cytometry. Wilcoxon test proceeded to analyze CTC/Tregs count and Spearman correlation test proceeded to find out the correlation of Tregsand CTC count. Results. A decrease of CTC after core biopsy found in median value of 50% in and p = 0.569. Median of Tregs count after core biopsy was 26.31%, with p = 0.049. We found a small rho values (r = 0.165, r = 0.235, r = 0.046, respectively) and p > 0.0.5. Conclusion: No correlation between Tregs with CTC count, before or after core biopsy. The study denoted that core biopsy considered a safe method for histopathological diagnostic purposes in breast cancer.