Objective: Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 (AKR1B10) is a protein that is produced and secreted by a significant number of breast cancers. However, a potential confounder to the use of AKR1B10 as a tumor marker is its elevation in patients given cytotoxic chemotherapy. We therefore conducted a prospective study to analyze AKR1B10 levels in patients with breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant cytotoxic chemotherapy.
Methods: The study enrolled 10 patients from November 2015 to July 2017. All patients had locally advanced, but non-metastatic, breast cancer, and they received neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery. Serum AKR1B10 levels and tumor imaging were assessed before, during, and after chemotherapy.
Results: No increase in serum AKR1B10 levels was noted in patients receiving chemotherapy whose levels were elevated at diagnosis.
Conclusion: The findings are complex, but the overall data suggest that AKR1B10 is suitable as a tumor marker in patients with elevated levels at the time of diagnosis.
Keywords: Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10; breast cancer; cytotoxic chemotherapy; hormone receptor; neoadjuvant therapy; surgery; treatment response; tumor marker.