REVIEW article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Cancer Cell Biology
Clinical application of PBMCs in Breast cancer: detection, treatment evaluation and prognosis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hunan Provincial Clinical Research Centre for Oncoplastic Surgery, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, changsha, China
- 2Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, changsha, China
- 3Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, changsha, China
- 4Phase I Clinical Trial Center, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, changsha, China
- 5Drug Clinical Research Center,, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, changsha, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Breast cancer (BC) has superseded lung cancer as the most prevalent malignant neoplasm globally, posing a significant threat to human health. Currently, mammography and ultrasonography serve as the primary modalities for early breast cancer screening. However, X-ray examination exhibits low sensitivity, while ultrasonography has a high false positive rate, which can readily lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), which are specialized immune cells generated by hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), actively monitor any indications of infection, foreign invaders, and abnormal or aberrant cells associated with diseases. Given that PBMCs respond to diverse pathophysiological stimuli in the form of immune responses/immune phenotypic changes, the study of the molecular constituents of PBMCs can facilitate a better understanding of the immune process. Simultaneously, as PBMCs can be isolated from peripheral blood and detected in liquid form, they offer a non-invasive and suitable source of biomarkers. The analysis of PBMCs in cancer patients can be utilized for the early screening and diagnosis of breast cancer, as well as for evaluating therapeutic efficacy and prognosis. This article reviews the clinical application of PBMCs in breast cancer, highlighting its advantages and limitations.
Keywords: breast cancer, blood detection, peripheral mononuclear cells PBMCs, efficacy evaluation, prognosis
Received: 09 Oct 2025; Accepted: 24 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liang, Song, Wu, Li and Gong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaomin Li
Qian Gong
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.