Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Biology contributes to the early diagnosis and monitoring of breast cancer with several categories of markers such as prognostic markers (ER, PR, HER2), proliferative markers (Ki67), and tumor markers such as CEA and CA 15-3. CEA can be detected at a high concentration in serum of patients with malignant tumors.
Aim: The aim of our study was to evaluate the concentrations of CEA in serum of women with breast cancer and to verify the existence of a possible link between the average rates of CEA and SBR grade.
Methods: Serum samples from 100 patients with breast cancer and 100 controls was recovered and examined with an AxSYM analyzer (Abbott Laboratories, USA) to measure CEA using Microparticle Enzyme Immunoassay (MEIA) technology.
Results: In our clinical study, the mean age of patients and controls were 52.7 and 50.3 years respectively. The results revealed an elevation in the CEA levels from patients with an average value of 16.61 ± 0.2 ng/ml. Positive correlation was found between CEA concentrations and SBR grade, it has found with 45,7 ± 1 ng/ml in grade III.
Conclusion: CEA represents an excellent marker for breast cancer development. Changes in its concentration reflect the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of treatment.