Serum proteome profiling of primary breast cancer indicates a specific biomarker profile

Non-invasive biomarkers for early breast cancer detection are urgently needed, as the risk of recurrent morbidity and mortality is closely related to the stage of the disease at the time of primary surgery. Currently, there are no established clinical biomarkers for breast cancer. Evaluation of protein expression patterns in body fluids using proteomic technologies can be used to discover new biomarkers for the detection of breast cancer. The aim of this study was to identify a biomarker signature identifying primary non-metastatic breast cancer and healthy controls. We screened 91 serum samples including 45 breast cancer patients and 46 healthy women using a proteomic approach. We found 14 biomarkers whose combination detects breast cancer patients from non-cancer controls with a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 67%. Five biomarkers were comparable with previously identified proteins from published data using similar approaches. This biomarker panel allows accurate discrimination between breast cancer and healthy individuals. In addition, it could distinguish subgroups of breast cancer based on patterns of several specific biomarkers. Further validation of biomarkers could potentially facilitate the early diagnosis of breast cancer as an aid to imaging diagnostics.