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Published in Cancer Detection and Prevention 1993; 17(1). CEA, TPA and CA 15-3 in breast cancerInstitute of General Pathology and Oncology - Faculty of Medicine University of Naples IIBreast cancer is the most frequent neoplasia in women of the industrialized countries. It is still unclear the diagnostic role of serum tumor markers in this neoplasia and in the last years it has been identified many antigens, which showed a relatively major specificity for breast cancer, i.e. MCA, CA 15-3. CAM26, CAM 29, CA 549, etc. Until to now, however, many investigations have showed that no antigen reveals sensitively more specificity than CA 15-3 and, therefore, we have believed that the CEA, TPA and CA 15-3 represented the best association to give us information about the behavior of tumor marker at different stages of the disease. So, we have assayed in five years the serum levels of CEA, TPA and CA 15-3 in 460 patients with breast cancer at stage T(1)-(2)N(0)M(0), 112 at stage T1-4N1 MO, 140 patients at stage T(1)-(2)N(0)M(0) and 120 at stage T1-4N1-2M1 The results obtained can be synthesized as follows: I) high CEA levels (cut off 5.0 ng/mL) have been found in 17.4% of cases T1 - 2NOMO, in 22% of patients T1 -4N 1 MO, in 32% of group T1 -4N2MO and in 50% of group T1 -4N 1 -2M 1; ii) we have revealed CA 15-3 pathologic values (over 25 U/mL) in 31 % of patients T1 -2NOMO, in 33.8% of group T1 -4N 1 MO, 47% of women T1 -4N2MO and in 74% of patients T1 -4N 1 -2M 1; iii) TPA over 95 U/L (cut off ) has been found in 37.4% of first group, in 52.6% of the group T1 -4N 1 MO, in 67.1 of the third group and in 89.5% of patients T1 -4N 1 -2M 1 - The results obtained suggest the following considerations: I) serum tumor marker assay represents an useful diagnostic approach to breast cancer. more than in monitoring follow-up of disease; ii) in our experience, also, CA 15-3 shows a good specificity, but a moderate sensitivity; on the contrary, TPA reveals a better sensitivity, but minimal specificity. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Cofactor Interactions and Cancer Prevention; Nice, France; March 17-19, 1993; in the section on Diagnostic Markers. |
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