Serial tumour markers serum carcinoembryonic antigen and cancer antigen 15-3 assays in detecting symptomatic metastasis in breast cancer patients

The value of serum tumour markers in the prognosis of patients with breast cancer is controversial. This prospective study in Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran, assessed the value of the tumour markers carcinoembryonic antigen [CEA] and cancer antigen [CA] 15-3 in 159 patients with primary breast cancer. CEA and CA15-3 assays [mean 14 per patient] were performed at diagnosis, end of surgery and chemotherapy and every 3 months in the first 2 years and every 6 months in second 2 years of the follow-up period. During follow-up, 33 patients [20.8%] presented symptomatic metastasis. A significant relationship was seen between metastasis status and positive CEA and CA15-3 levels. The sensitivity and specificity were 66.7% and 98.4% for CEA respectively and 84.8% and 91.3% for CA15-3 respectively. Optimum cut-offs were 4.95 ng/mL and 30.5 U/mL for CEA and CA15-3 respectively

Assessment of response to tamoxifen among Iraqi patients with advanced breast cancer

Eighty-eight women presenting with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer were treated with tamoxifen alone. Estrogen and progesterone receptors [ER and PR] were immunocytochemically analysed in mammary tumour cells obtained by fine needle sampling from 73 patients. Of the breast carcinomas, 34.2% were ER+/PR+ and 43.8% were ER-/PR-. The ER+ content increased with age in postmenopausal women. After tamoxifen treatment objective remission occurred in 39.7% of the women. The overall response rate was 53.3% in the ER+/PR- group and 73.1% in the ER+/PR+ group. However, the response elicited in a case of the ER-/PR- phenotype justified the randomized use of tamoxifen among patients in Iraq where the necessary requirements for hormone receptor assessment are almost unavailable