Circulating Endothelial Cells and Circulating Progenitor Cells in Breast Cancer: Relationship to Endothelial Damage/Dysfunction/ Apoptosis, Clinicopathologic Factors, and the Nottingham Prognostic Index

Abstract

CECs and CPCs demonstrate a strong relationship with NPI groups, but only CECs positively predict higher NPI scores and correlate with tumor invasiveness and size, possibly reflecting total tumor vascular volume.