Carcinoembryonic Antigen, Ferritin, Tissue Polypeptide Antigen, and Ca15/3 in Breast Cancer: Relationship between Carcinoma and Normal Breast Tissue

Abstract

The study of tumor markers in breast cancer tissue may supply information on the tumor's biological features and its clinical behaviour. Forty-nine primary breast cancer patients are evaluable to date. CEA, ferritin, TPA and CA15/3 were measured with radioimmunometric methods in the cytosol of carcinoma and normal tissue from the same breast. The concentrations of the four markers were higher in the tumor than in normal tissue in 42/49 cases for CEA, 47/49 for ferritin, 42/49 for TPA and in 24/29 for CA15/3. However, an overlap was found between carcinoma and normal tissue levels, particularly for CEA and TPA. We can conclude that the four substances studied may be markers of malignancy in breast carcinoma when non-malignant breast tissue from the same patient is determined at the same time, whereas assays within a single, unknown breast tissue sample may be useful only in the case of ferritin and, partly, CA15/3.

The tumour associated antigen CA15.3 in primary breast cancer. Evaluation of 667 cases

“…This is in agreement with both previously published studies of our group (Gion et al, 1986a;Gion et al, 1987), in which no relationships were found between receptor status and cytosol CA15.3 levels, and results of a clinical study performed by Krebs et al (Krebs et al, 1988).…”

Tissue polypeptide antigen in tumor cytosol: A new prognostic indicator in primary breast cancer

“…The fact that tumor marker concentration in breast cancer cytosol is independent of tumor bulk [12][13][14] has provided the stimulus for evaluating its prognostic role. Moreover, cytosol is prepared using a standardized, well reproducible procedure [20], currently used for the determination of steroid receptors.…”

“…Since 1982 we have been measuring several tumor markers in breast cancer tissue with the goal of better characterizing the phenotypic pattern of the tumor [12][13][14]. Among the tumor markers evaluated, tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) [15] showed higher cytosol levels in ER+PgR+ than in E R -P g R -tumors [12], being a possible marker of more differentiated and probably less aggressive tumors [16,17].…”

Postoperative Follow-Up of Breast Cancer Patients: Overview and Progress in the Use of Tumor Markers

“…Nevertheless, so far, no specific immunohistochemical study contemporaneously evaluated production and secretion patterns of any tumor marker in primary cancer and metastatic tissue. Detectable tissue levels of CEA and CA15.3 were observed in 92 and 97%, respectively, of 67 untreated primary breast cancers; however, there was no correlation between cytosol and serum tumor marker levels [43]. A lower secretion rate and higher cytosolic level of TPA in primary breast cancer were related to a better prognosis and a more differentiated cancer [44].…”