Tumor markers in the early detection of tumor recurrence in breast cancer patients: CA 125, CYFRA 21-1, HER2 shed antigen, LDH and CRP in combination with CEA and CA 15-3

Abstract Background Aberrant DNA methylation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) gene has been found in many cancers. The object of this study was to evaluate the clinical impact of PTEN methylation as a prognostic marker in breast cancer. The study includes 153 newly diagnosed females, and they were divided according to their clinical diagnosis into breast cancer patients (n = 112) and females with benign breast lesion (n = 41). A group of healthy individuals (n = 25) were recruited as control individuals. Breast cancer patients were categorized into early stage (0–I, n = 48) and late stage (II–III, n = 64), and graded into low grade (I–II, n = 42) and high grade (III, n = 70). Their pathological types were invasive duct carcinoma (IDC) (n = 66) and duct carcinoma in situ (DCI) (n = 46). Tumor markers (CEA and CA15.3) were detected using ELISA. DNA was taken away from the blood, and the PTEN promoter methylation level was evaluated using the EpiTect Methyl II PCR method. Results The findings revealed the superiority of PTEN methylation status as a good discriminator of the cancer group from the other two groups (benign and control) with its highest AUC and increased sensitivity (96.4%) and specificity (100%) over tumor markers (50% and 84% for CEA and 49.1% and 86.4% for CA15.3), respectively. The frequency of PTEN methylation was 96.4% of breast cancer patients and none of the benign and controls showed PTEN methylation and the means of PTEN methylation (87 ± 0.6) were significantly increased in blood samples of breast cancer group as compared to both benign and control groups (25 ± 0.7 and 12.6 ± 0.3), respectively. Methylation levels of PTEN were higher in the blood of patients with ER-positive than in patients with ER-negative cancers (P = 0.007) and in HER2 positive vs. HER2 negative tumors (P = 0.001). The Kaplan-Meier analysis recognizes PTEN methylation status as a significant forecaster of bad progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), after 40 months follow-up. Conclusions PETN methylation could be supposed as one of the epigenetic aspects influencing the breast cancer prognosis that might foretell more aggressive actions and worse results in breast cancer patients.

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Serum N-glycan profiles differ for various breast cancer subtypes

Glycoconjugate Journal ◽

10.1007/s10719-021-10001-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gerda C. M. Vreeker ◽

Kiki M. H. Vangangelt ◽

Marco R. Bladergroen ◽

Simone Nicolardi ◽

Wilma E. Mesker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Early Detection ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

High Resolution Mass Spectrometry ◽

Case Control ◽

Total Serum ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Cancer Subtypes ◽

Control Comparison

AbstractBreast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women. Early detection of this disease improves survival and therefore population screenings, based on mammography, are performed. However, the sensitivity of this screening modality is not optimal and new screening methods, such as blood tests, are being explored. Most of the analyses that aim for early detection focus on proteins in the bloodstream. In this study, the biomarker potential of total serum N-glycosylation analysis was explored with regard to detection of breast cancer. In an age-matched case-control setup serum protein N-glycan profiles from 145 breast cancer patients were compared to those from 171 healthy individuals. N-glycans were enzymatically released, chemically derivatized to preserve linkage-specificity of sialic acids and characterized by high resolution mass spectrometry. Logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate associations of specific N-glycan structures as well as N-glycosylation traits with breast cancer. In a case-control comparison three associations were found, namely a lower level of a two triantennary glycans and a higher level of one tetraantennary glycan in cancer patients. Of note, various other N-glycomic signatures that had previously been reported were not replicated in the current cohort. It was further evaluated whether the lack of replication of breast cancer N-glycomic signatures could be partly explained by the heterogenous character of the disease since the studies performed so far were based on cohorts that included diverging subtypes in different numbers. It was found that serum N-glycan profiles differed for the various cancer subtypes that were analyzed in this study.

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Self-perceived Risk of Breast Cancer and Screening Behaviors of First-degree Female Relatives of Breast Cancer Patients at the Uganda Cancer Institute, Uganda

10.21203/rs.3.rs-343329/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Provia Ainembabazi ◽

Derrick Bary Abila ◽

Grace Manyangwa ◽

Godwin Anguzu ◽

Innocent Mutyaba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Breast Cancer ◽

Cancer Screening ◽

Early Detection ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Breast Cancer Screening ◽

Perceived Risk ◽

Breast Cancer Patients ◽

Perceived Risks ◽

First Degree Relatives ◽

Cancer Breast

Abstract Introduction In Uganda, Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females globally. The majority of the patients present with advanced-stage disease at diagnoses and experience high mortality. This underscores the importance of early detection approaches based on awareness of risk factors and self-perceived risks, and symptoms of the disease to promote adoption of risk reduction behaviors and prompt health-seeking respectively. This study assessed the self-perceived risk of breast cancer, and breast cancer screening behaviours among first-degree female relatives of breast cancer patients in Uganda.Methods This was a cross-sectional study employing quantitative approaches for data collection and analyses. First-degree female relatives of patients attending care at Uganda Cancer Institute were recruited consecutively in the study. A pre-tested coded questionnaire was used to collect data on self-perceived risks, breast cancer risks, and breast cancer screening behaviours. Data were collected between March to October 2019. A modified Poisson regression model was used to evaluate factors associated with self-perceived risk of breast cancer and breast cancer risk awareness.ResultsWe enrolled 296 first-degree female relatives from 197 female breast cancer patients. The median age (IQR) was 33 (26-43) years. A majority (60.1%, 178/296) of the participants had a low self-perceived risk of breast cancer. Breast self-examination (55.7%, 165/296) was the most practiced screening method followed by clinical breast examination (n= 64/296, 21.6%), ultrasound scan of the breast (7.8%, 23/296,), and mammogram (3.7%, 11/296). Women aged 35-44 years had a higher self-perceived risk of breast cancer (adjusted Incident Rate Ratio [aIRR]: 1.75, 95%CI: 1.10-2.80), compared to women aged 18-25 years. ConclusionFirst-degree relatives reported a low self-perceived risk of breast cancer. Breast cancer health education especially targeting younger women should emphasize the increased risk of breast cancer in first-degree relatives of patients with breast cancer. There is a need to increase awareness of breast cancer screening methods and their usefulness in the early detection of breast cancer among all women in Uganda.

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