Association of TGF-β2 levels in breast milk with severity of breast biopsy diagnosis

Abstract

Purpose TGF-β plays a dual role in breast carcinogenesis, acting at early stages as tumor-suppressors and later as tumor-promoters. TGF-β isoforms are expressed in breast tissues and secreted in milk, suggesting that analysis of levels in milk might be informative for breast cancer risk. Accordingly, we assessed TGF-β2 levels in milk from women who had undergone a breast biopsy and related the concentrations to diagnosis. Methods Milk donated by women who had undergone or were scheduled for a breast biopsy was shipped on ice for processing and testing. Breast cancer risk factors were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire and biopsy diagnoses were extracted from pathology reports. TGF-β2 levels in milk, assessed as absolute levels and in relation to total protein, were analyzed in bilateral samples donated by 182 women. Linear regression was used to estimate relationships of log transformed TGF-β2 levels and TGF-β2:total protein ratios to biopsy category. Results Milk TGF-β2 levels from biopsied and non-biopsied breasts within women were highly correlated (r2=0.77). Higher mean TGF-β2 milk levels (based on average of bilateral samples) were marginally associated with more severe breast pathological diagnosis, after adjusting for duration of nursing current child (adjusted p-trend=0.07). Conclusions Our exploratory analysis suggests a borderline significant association between higher mean TGF-β2 levels in breast milk and more severe pathologic diagnoses. Further analysis of TGF-β signaling in milk may increase understanding of post-partum re-modeling and advance efforts to analyze milk as a means of assessing risk of breast pathology.

Isolation and Detection Technologies of Extracellular Vesicles and Application on Cancer Diagnostic

“…106,109–111 Yang et al said the expression of TGF-β in the breast milk increased the risk of BC. 112 van’t Veer et al claimed that CD24 was abundant in patients with late-stage BC, 113 and Wang et al demonstrated CD82 expression level was negatively associated with patients with BC. 114 As for miRNA, miR-10b and miR-145 are abundant in patients with BC.…”

Comparative two‐dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D‐PAGE) of human milk to identify dysregulated proteins in breast cancer

“…As reviewed previously, a non‐invasive tool for early detection of BC could be particularly beneficial for women of reproductive age, as current imaging tools are less effective in detecting cancer in the relatively dense breasts of younger women, and because the incidence of pregnancy associated BC is predicted to increase as the age of first pregnancy increase. Empirical studies support the use of human milk to investigate potential BC biomarkers . Dysregulated proteins in breast milk could provide potential biomarkers of BC.…”

Proteomics analysis of human breast milk to assess breast cancer risk

“…Human breast milk has been proposed as a suitable bodily fluid for discovering biomarkers useful in early detection of BC, as well as for assessing future risk . Breast milk contains secreted proteins, immune cells and exfoliated epithelial cells originating throughout the organ.…”