Abstract
Background
Few studies have focused on the relationship between monocyte and breast lump. To explore whether absolute monocyte count (AMC) or monocyte percent (%MONO) could be used as a new circulation tumor marker for breast lump detection by ultrasonography among Chinese women.
Methods
A total of 3,231 women who had at least two breast ultrasonography examinations were followed up from January 2014 to December 2019. Adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to evaluate the relationships between AMC and %MONO and the incidence of breast lump.
Results
During a total of 6,037 person-years of follow-up, 803 participants developed a breast lump. In the final multivariable adjusted models, using the lowest quartile as the reference group, the HRs (95%CIs) of breast lump were 1.18 (0.95, 1.45), 1.33 (1.08, 1.65), and 1.28 (1.02, 1.61), respectively, for AMC in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quartiles (Ptrend < 0.001). The corresponding HRs (95%CIs) for %MONO in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quartiles were 1.03 (0.83, 1.28), 1.28 (1.03, 1.29), and 1.62 (1.30, 2.02, Ptrend< 0.001), respectively. The multivariable adjusted HRs for breast lump per unit increase of AMC and %MONO were 3.19 (1.38, 7.38; P = 0.007) and 1.14 (1.08, 1.21; P < 0.001), respectively. The effect of high monocyte levels on increased risks of breast lump were more remarkable in younger women.
Conclusion
This study demonstrated that increased monocyte levels can be used as an indicator of the incidence of breast lump, especially for younger women.