Assesment of Human Mammaglobin (hMAG) as a New Marker for Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Abstract
Background: Breast cancer may originate either from the ducts, known as ductal carcinomas or from the lobules, known as lobular carcinomas. There are many different types of breast cancer, with different stages (spread), aggressiveness, and genetic makeup. Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women affecting approximately 6% of the females. It constitutes almost 20% of all malignancies in women. In Egypt, breast cancer affects 37.7% of all women and accounts for 29.1% of their cancer-related mortality with a total of 6546 deaths.
Aim: The aim of this study is to study correlations between hMAG level and different stages of breast cancer (TNM staging) and to study correlations between hMAG as a new marker and routine markers used in breast cancer (CA 15-3 & CEA).
Patients and Methods: This study was carried out on 80 Breast Cancer female patients their age ranged aged 25 to 65 years. Ten age matched healthy females served as controls. Patients were referred from Assiut University Hospital, General Surgery Department, and South Egypt Cancer Institute. Formal consent was obtained from patients and controls. The study was approved by Ethical Committee of Faculty of Medicine Assiut University.
Results: None of the healthy females in control group (group1) had elevated mammaglobin level above the cut-off value which was 41.49ng/ml. Elevated levels of mammaglobin was detected in 65%, 75%, 90% and 100% of patients in groups II, III, IV, and V respectively. There was a significant positive correlation between Mammaglobin positivity with CEA and CA 15-3 concentrations. The combination CA15- 3, CEA and mammaglobin resulted in the highest sensitivity (97%), highest specificity (95%) and highest diagnostic accuracy (96%).
Conclusion: Mammaglobin levels in peripheral blood samples obtained from Egyptian female individuals with breast cancer, are good markers for detection of breast cancer. This marker can be used to aid in detection of metastasis as it is correlated with the clinical staging of the disease. A combination of CA15-3, CEA and mammaglobin may be used as a panel for diagnosis of metastasis among breast cancer patients.