Human tissue polypeptide antigen in breast cancer.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Biochemistry
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Breast cancer diagnosis and monitoring rely on accurate tumor markers.
• Tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) are established tumor markers.
• Evaluating the comparative efficacy of TPA and CEA in breast cancer is crucial for clinical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To simultaneously measure serum TPA and plasma CEA levels in breast cancer patients and control groups.
• To compare the diagnostic utility of TPA and CEA as tumor markers for breast cancer.
• To assess the correlation of TPA and CEA levels with disease stage, metastasis, and clinical course.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous measurement of serum TPA and plasma CEA.
• Study population included 108 breast cancer patients, 40 healthy women, and 26 women with benign breast disease.
• Analysis of marker levels in primary, metastatic, and recurrent breast cancer, as well as benign conditions and healthy controls.

Main Results:

• TPA elevation observed in 53% of primary and 70% of metastatic breast cancer cases; CEA in 21% of primary and 61% of metastatic cases.
• TPA was elevated in 27% of benign breast disease cases, while CEA was not elevated.
• TPA elevation was more frequent in visceral metastasis. Both markers showed limited correlation with clinical course during palliative therapy.

Conclusions:

• Serum TPA and plasma CEA demonstrate comparable efficacy as tumor markers in breast cancer.
• TPA exhibits a higher rate of elevation in benign breast disease compared to CEA.
• TPA and CEA are valuable tools for monitoring breast cancer, particularly in metastatic disease.