Clinicopathological characteristics of patients of certain molecular subtypes and elevated postoperative cancer antigen 15.3 levels and its correlation with menopausal status

Abstract

Context: It is well established that breast cancer subtypes differ in their outcome and treatment response. Aim: To observe tumor characteristics of different molecular subgroup and patients with postoperative (PO) raised cancer antigen 15.3 (CA 15.3) group and variation of tumor nature between pre- and post-menopausal breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Blood samples and tumor blocks were collected from 95 nonmetastatic female breast cancer patients. Immunohistochemical stains for estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and HER2/Neu were used to classify molecular subtypes. CA 15.3 level was detected by ELISA. Significance levels were ascertained by Pearson Chi-square test. Results: Prevalence of luminal A tumor with grade 3 was high. Triple negative and ER positive (ER+) types showed tumors with high grade and high lymph node (LN) metastasis. More nodal involvement was noticed in patients with PO raised CA 15.3. In addition, premenopausal patients with triple-negative and ER+ subtypes exhibited more aggressive tumors which were characterized by high grade and large numbers of LN metastasis. Conclusion: Clinicopathological characteristics of certain molecular subtypes and influence of menopausal status on it can predict disease recurrence or overall survival of breast cancer patients.

Keywords

• Breast cancer, cancer antigen 15.3, menopausal status, molecular subtypes, traditional prognostic indexes