CINCINNATI, Nov. 8 U.S. scientists have identified a molecule that may be more accurate in predicting breast cancer than existing biological markers.
University of Cincinnati researchers said their discovery -- detailed last month in an early online edition of the International Journal of Cancer -- might one day influence therapy decisions and prevent unnecessary aggressive cancer treatments.
Currently, when diagnosing breast cancer, pathologists look for elevated levels of three standard molecules: estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and HER2.
"The problem with these biomarkers is that many of them are present at some level in the normal breast," said Dr. Georg Weber, lead investigator of the new study.
Weber and his team identified a molecule, osteopontin-c, that is absent from the normal breast and appears to more accurately predict breast cancer metastasis.
In a two-year evaluation of 178 breast tumors, they found osteopontin-c present in 78 percent of cancers and in 36 percent of the surrounding tissues. It was not detected at all in normal tissues.
In 56 breast cancers, 20 were positive and 36 were negative for estrogen receptor, 19 were positive and 37 were negative for progesterone receptor, and 26 were positive for HER2 with 30 negative.
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