[Preoperative serum CA15.3 and CEA levels and clinical-biological parameters in breast tumors]

Vitronectin: a promising breast cancer serum biomarker for early diagnosis of breast cancer in patients

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, identification of new biomarkers for early diagnosis and detection will improve the clinical outcome of breast cancer patients. In the present study, we determined serum levels of vitronectin (VN) in 93 breast cancer patients, 30 benign breast lesions, 9 precancerous lesions, and 30 healthy individuals by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Serum VN level was significantly higher in patients with stage 0-I primary breast cancer than in healthy individuals, patients with benign breast lesion or precancerous lesions, as well as those with breast cancer of higher stages. Serum VN level was significantly and negatively correlated with tumor size, lymph node status, and clinical stage (p < 0.05 in all cases). In addition, VN displayed higher area under curve (AUC) value (0.73, 95 % confidence interval (CI) [0.62-0.84]) than carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (0.64, 95 % CI [0.52-0.77]) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) (0.69, 95 % CI [0.58-0.81]) when used to distinguish stage 0-I cancer and normal control. Importantly, the combined use of three biomarkers yielded an improvement in receiver operating characteristic curve with an AUC of 0.83, 95 % CI [0.74-0.92]. Taken together, our current study showed for the first time that serum VN is a promising biomarker for early diagnosis of breast cancer when combined with CEA and CA15-3.

Comparison of bone scan with carbohydrate antigen 15-3 for evaluation of bone metastasis of brest cancer

This study aimed at comparing the bone scan and CA15-3 titer in patients with breast cancer for evaluation of bone metastasis. Thirty five patients with definite diagnosis of breast cancer were evaluated in Tabriz Imam Khomeini Hospital from 2007 to 2008. Bone scan (99 mTc-MDP) performed in all patients. The serum CA15-3 was measured by ECLIA method. The increased level was considered as >30 U mL(-1). The serum level of CA15-3 was compared between the patients with and without bone metastasis, as well as its correlation with the extent of bone involvement. Thirty five patients with the mean age of 51.69 +/- 10.77 (34-81) years were enrolled in the study. According to bone scan results, 24 (68.8%) patients revealed bone metastasis. The mean level of serum CA15-3 was significantly higher in patents with bone metastasis than patients without metastasis (26.37 +/- 4.74 U mL(-1) vs. 19.09 +/- 1.99 U mL(-1); p<0.001). There was not significant relation between the serum level of CA15-3 and the extent of bone metastasis (rho = -0.063, p = 0.769). Coordinates of the curve study yielded a cut-off point > 21.8 U mL(-1) for the serum level of CA15-3 in our patients, with a sensitivity and specificity of 91.7 and 91%, respectively. Serum level of CA15-3 is higher in the patients with bone metastatic breast cancer; however, the recommended cut-off point might not be suitable for Iranian patients. Further studies with large sample sizes are recommended.