Evaluation of aromatase as a potential biomarker and its association with CA 15-3 in patients with non-metastatic breast cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer has been more common among Iraqi women in recent years. Monitoring proteins in human bodily fluids for early stage detection and prognosis of breast cancer is the best way and the first step toward effective therapy, delaying metastases and lowering mortality. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the value of Aromatase as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in breast cancer patients and to analyze the associations between Aromatase and standard CA 15-3 biomarker, as well as clinicopathological parameters. This study included 60 newly diagnosed patients, 49 receiving adjuvant hormone therapy, and 50 women who had a benign breast tumour as controls. We measured the serum levels by ELISA technique of Aromatase and CA 15-3. The results showed there were a significant difference in the mean serum Aromatase level amongst study groups (p < 0.001), and showed significant positive correlation with serum CA 15-3 in newly diagnosed group and treated group, (P < 0.001) and (p = 0.041), respectively. It also showed there were no significant correlations of serum Aromatase and CA 15-3 with menopause status, age, BMI, tumor size, node status, grade, tumor type, ER, PR and Her2.