Complex Analysis of Endothelial Markers as Potential Prognostic Indicators in Luminal Invasive Breast Carcinoma Patients: Outcomes of a Six-Year Observational Study

Abstract

(1) Background: Metastasis is a complex process in which the primary cancer cells spread to a distant organ or organs, creating a secondary tumor location, which in many patients leads to treatment failure and death. The aim of the present study was to assess the association of endothelial markers (i.e., sP-selectin, sE-selectin and von Willebrand factor) with the leptin-to-adiponectin ratio (LAR) and to perform an analysis of the predictive value on the survival of patients with luminal A and B invasive breast cancer (IBrC). (2) Methods: The trial included 70 treatment-naïve early-stage IBrC patients with a median age of 54.5 years and a median tumor diameter of 1.5 cm. The median duration of follow-up was 5.7 years, with a relapse rate of 15.71%. Specific immunoenzymatic kits were used to determine pre- and post-treatment concentrations of analyzed factors. (3) Results: Regardless of the treatment pattern, endothelial marker concentrations and the LAR increased after adjuvant treatment. The follow-up showed a significantly higher relapse rate in patients with IBrC who had higher pre-treatment sP-selectin and post-treatment LAR levels. According to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, a post-treatment LAR with a sensitivity of 88.9% and specificity of 57.9% discriminating cases with or without disease relapse. Additionally, a higher risk of breast cancer relapse was associated with a lower post-treatment sP-selectin concentration. (4) Conclusions: Our results showed mainly that pre-treatment sP-selectin levels and post-treatment LAR may have value as prognostic indicators and may contribute to predicting the future outcomes in patients with early-stage IBrC.

Keywords

• breast cancer
• LAR
• sP-selectin
• sE-selectin
• von Willebrand factor
• relapse