Clinical significance of bone marrow metastases as detected using the polymerase chain reaction in patients with breast cancer undergoing high-dose chemotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation.

Abstract

It has been shown that PCR is a highly sensitive method to detect K19 message in the bone marrow. The incidence of K19 positivity in bone marrow increases significantly with advancing stage. In patients with breast cancer, especially metastatic breast cancer, undergoing HDCT and ABMT, the presence of K19 is associated with a poor prognosis.