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Subject Area

Clinical Pathology

Article Type

Review

Abstract

Objective The aim was to assess the role of the circulating endothelial progenitor cells (CEPCs) in stages of breast cancer (BC) in patients. Materials and Methods We reviewed papers on the relation between CEPCs and stages of BC from Medline databases (PubMed, Medscape, Science Direct, and EMF-Portal) and all materials available on the internet from 1994 to 2016. The initial search presented 100 articles, of which, 30 met the inclusion criteria. The articles studied the relation between endothelial progenitor cells and stages of BC. If the studies did not fulfill the inclusion criteria, they were excluded. Study quality assessment included whether ethical approval was gained, eligibility criteria specified, appropriate controls, adequate information, and defined assessment measures. Comparisons were made by structured review with the results tabulated. Findings Endothelial progenitor cells counts were significantly higher in advanced stages of BC compared with those with early stages and controls in almost all the studied publications. Conclusion Our review concludes CEPCs elevation in the blood of patients is a useful marker of tumor angiogenesis and progression and early predictor of metastasis in patients with BC.

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