Identification of genes associated with breast cancer micrometastatic disease in bone marrow disseminated tumor cells (DTCs)

In this study, we assess the effect of zoledronic acid on clearance of disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) from the bone marrow in women undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer In this dataset, Primary breast tissue from stage II or III breast cancer patients were included in the analysis. This study allowed the identification of novel gene expression patterns associated with the presence of DTCs BM by IHC and supports the concept of epithelial to mesenchymal transition transition (EMT) of DTCs present in the BM .