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Updated: Aug 14, 2026
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Clinical Imaging of Microwave Mammography
Published on: November 14, 2025
Circulating Thioredoxin 1 as an Adjunct to Mammography for Breast Cancer Detection: A Multicenter Clinical Validation
Hye Mi Ko1, Jee Ye Kim2, Songhak Kim3
1Department of Surgery, Chungnam National University Hospital & Chungnam National University School of Medicine, Daejeon 35015, Republic of Korea.
Cancers
|August 13, 2026
Summary
Circulating thioredoxin 1 (Trx1) shows high accuracy in detecting breast cancer, especially in dense breasts where mammography is less effective. This biomarker complements imaging, improving diagnostic certainty for breast cancer evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Biomarker Discovery
- Oncology
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Mammography faces limitations in diagnosing breast cancer, particularly in women with dense breasts or subtle lesions.
- Clinical uncertainty persists, necessitating complementary diagnostic tools for accurate breast cancer assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate circulating thioredoxin 1 (Trx1) as a biomarker to enhance breast cancer diagnosis.
- To assess Trx1's diagnostic performance and its integration with mammography.
Main Methods:
- A multicenter study involving 1901 serum samples across four cohorts.
- Diagnostic performance assessed using ROC analysis, precision-recall curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA).
- Trx1 concentrations compared between breast cancer patients and controls.
Main Results:
- Circulating Trx1 was significantly elevated in breast cancer patients (p < 0.001).
- Trx1 demonstrated excellent diagnostic discrimination (AUC 0.985) with high sensitivity (96.4%) and specificity (97.3%).
- Trx1 maintained high sensitivity in dense breasts (98.9%) where mammography sensitivity was lower (67.0%).
Conclusions:
- Circulating Trx1 offers robust diagnostic performance across various breast cancer stages and patient subgroups.
- Trx1 provides biologically independent information that complements mammography, particularly in uncertain diagnostic cases.
- Trx1 may serve as a valuable adjunct to imaging for breast cancer evaluation, pending prospective validation.
