Serum neopterin levels in patients with breast cancer

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the importance of serum neopterin level in female patients with breast cancer of various clinical stages. The study consisted of 75 female patients with breast cancer who were diagnosed and treated at the Gazi University Department of Medical Oncology. The patients were classified into three representative groups and a control group: group A (n = 26), patients with newly diagnosed primary breast cancer and without metastasis; group B (n = 33), patients with metastatic breast cancer who had undergone treatment for their diseases and on whom metastasis was detected during their follow-up; group C (n = 16), off-therapy patient whose cancer had been in remission for at least 5 years; group D (n = 20) healthy controls. The median serum neopterin levels of the 75 patients with breast cancer 11.0 (range, 0-23.6) nmol/L were significantly higher than those of controls (8.3 (range, 1.2-12.0) nmol/L). In group B patients, neopterin levels (12.6 (range, 0-23.6) nmol/L) were statistically significantly higher than those of controls, primary breast cancer patients, and off-therapy patients (P < .05). In group B, patients with visceral metastases had higher neopterin levels than did those with bone or local metastases; however, that difference was not statistically significant. The median serum neopterin levels of the primary breast cancer patients in group A (8.8 (range, 0-20) nmol/l) were not statistically significantly different from those in controls and off-therapy patients. Serum neopterin levels were significantly elevated in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Neopterin seems to be an indicator of metastatic cancer rather than a marker for local cancer. In patients with metastatic breast cancer, determining the serum neopterin levels may be useful in estimating survival; however, additional long-term follow-up will be needed.

Levels in neurotransmitter precursor amino acids correlate with mental health in patients with breast cancer

“…In the present study serum neopterin levels were higher in DPR + patients and ANX + subjects, but they were not influenced by the diagnosis of breast cancer. This is in line with previous data sets showing that serum neopterin was not altered in patients with remitted breast cancer or local disease (Yildirim et al, 2008) possibly due to a cancer-induced suppression of the Th1-related immune response and lower IFN-␥ levels (Campbell et al, 2005). In breast cancer patients before therapy neopterin was increased in only 18% of the patients which is within the lowest frequency of all tumors (Murr et al, 1999).…”

Clinical Value of Serum Neopterin, Tissue Polypeptide-Specific Antigen and CA19-9 Levels in Differential Diagnosis between Pancreatic Cancer and Chronic Pancreatitis

“…Similarly, Yildrim et al [5] found that the serum levels of neopterin were higher in patients with metastatic breast cancer compared to patients without distal metastases. Unal et al [8] also observed that serum neopterin concentrations were significantly higher in patients with gastric carcinoma than in the control group and were correlated with tumor stage, gastric wall involvement and the number of metastatic lymph nodes.…”

“…We assessed the diagnostic utility of neopterin, which elevated serum and urinary levels were reported in breast, gastric and colon cancer [5,6,8]. We – as well as Birk et al [10] – observed elevated neopterin serum levels in patients with PA compared to the CP and healthy groups.…”

“…Neopterin is a low-molecular mass substance synthesized from guanosine triphosphate in monocytes and macrophages in response to IFN-γ stimulation. It is an indicator of systemic immune activation, elevated in viral infections, autoimmune disorders and neoplastic diseases, such as colorectal, gastric and breast cancers [5,6,7,8]. It may also be elevated in patients with PA, therefore its use in differential diagnosis of pancreatic masses has been suggested [9,10].…”

Concentrations of neopterin, kynurenine and tryptophan in wound secretions of patients with breast cancer and malignant melanoma: a pilot study

“…Increased neopterin concentrations have been reported across a range of disorders [3,18,19]. In cancer patients, systemic (serum or urinary) neopterin concentrations are increased across a range of different primary tumors [3,20,21], including breast cancer [22][23][24][25][26] or melanoma [20,21], and predict poor prognosis. Increased neopterin concentrations have been associated with the dysfunction of the immune system both in the tumor microenvironment [5,6] and at the systemic level [4,7].…”