Study in Leptomeningeal Metastases of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cause of leptomeningeal metastases (LM). As for brain parenchymal metastases, the incidence of LM seems to be increasing, due to the growing incidence of metastatic BC, the improvement of survival and the poor diffusion of therapeutic agents into the central nervous system (CNS). Several prognostic factors have been identified, including the age at diagnosis, the functional and neurological status, the delay between the diagnosis of cancer and that of LM. Other CSF biomarkers have been evaluated for the diagnosis of leptomeningeal metastases. Finally, the CellSearch® technique allows for the characterisation of proteins expressed by CSF tumors cells (E.G., HER2) and will make possible a better understanding of the physiopathology of tumor dissemination to the CS. Other neuronal biomarkers could be interesting for the diagnosis of LM in BC patients. Among them, the protein Tau (total-Tau or T-Tau) is involved in several neurological diseases. However, to date, no study has evaluated CSF or serum T-Tau in LM from solid tumors. Several neuronal biomarkers could also be good candidates, such as the neurogranin CSF and/or serum levels or the CNS neurofilaments (NF), that seem to be a good reflect of axonal injury and neuronal loss.