system
Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Biomarkers, Tumor, Bone Neoplasms, Bone Resorption, Breast Neoplasms, Collagen, Collagen Type I, Disease Progression, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Female, Humans, Middle Aged, Peptides, Prognosis, Soft Tissue Neoplasms, Survival Rate, Time Factors, Treatment Outcome.
user
Are baseline serum NTx levels prognostic in metastatic breast cancer patients with bone-only metastasis? Context: There is significant heterogeneity in survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer who have bone-only metastasis. We studied the correlation of serum N-telopeptide (NTx), a marker of bone resorption, and its correlation with clinical outcomes in patients with metastatic breast cancer with bone-only or bone plus soft tissue metastasis. Serum was taken from 250 metastatic breast cancer patients with bone-only or bone plus soft tissue metastasis who participated in two similar randomized studies of second-line hormone therapy. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay specific for NTx of type I bone collagen was used to detect serum levels. Sixty patients (24%) had elevated serum NTx levels, using the mean + 2 standard deviations (26 nanomoles Bone Collagen Equivalents per liter) of healthy women as a cut-off. The median duration of clinical benefit was significantly shorter in the group with elevated serum NTx levels compared with the group that had normal serum NTx levels (P=0.0004). Time to progression (TTP) was also significantly shorter in the patients with elevated serum NTx at 139 days compared with 220 days (P=0.0006). Median survival was also significantly shorter in patients with elevated baseline serum NTx levels at 663 days compared with 941 days (P<0.0001).
assistant
In this study, breast cancer patients with bone-only or bone plus soft tissue metastasis and elevated serum NTx levels have a shorter duration of clinical benefit, TTP and overall survival. Final Decision: yes