| The role of two markers, maspin and mammaglobin B, for the non invasive diagnosis of breast cancer
Although in recent years breast cancer incidence and mortality have decreased thanks to early diagnosis and to the efficacy of adjuvant systemic treatment in drug sensitive tumors, it nevertheless remains the most common malignancy and the second leading cause of death among women in the western world. Our study published in Annals of Oncology in early 2006 dealt with the role of two markers, maspin and mammaglobin B, for the non invasive diagnosis of breast cancer. The study was performed in a series of 140 patients with operable breast cancer and 27 healthy donors; mRNA transcripts of the two biomarkers were analyzed in peripheral blood using RT-PCR. As these transcripts are expressed only in epithelial cells, a positive test result is indicative of the presence of tumor cells in the bloodstream. Test sensitivity was 29% and specificity was 89%. Positivity for each marker correlated significantly with nodal status and mammaglobin B correlated also with pathological stage. In conclusion, this approach is able to identify patients at high risk of relapse and could represent a potentially useful non invasive tool to detect breast cancer. We are now trying to improve the accuracy of this test by adding other specific markers to resolve false positive problems and by developing a quantitative and reproducible method.
Bibliographical reference:
Emanuela Flamini Istituto Oncologico Romagnolo, Forli, Italy
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