title: CA-549 serum levels in breast cancer monitoring.
abstract: CA-549 serum levels were assessed in 288 patients, 156 with early breast cancer (after surgery) and 132 with advanced breast cancer. CA-549 was abnormal (> 12 U/ml) in 25/156 patients (16%) without clinical signs of disease after surgery (median 9 U/ml), in 49/60 patients (82%) with disease in progression (P) (median 50 U/ml), in 19/27 patients (70%) with stationary disease (NC) (median 14 U/ml), in 25/33 patients (76%) with partial remission (PR) (median 18 U/ml) and in 4/12 patients (33%) with complete remission (CR) (median 9 U/ml). CA-549 serum levels correlated mainly with the extent of disease and secondarily with the prevalent metastatic site, higher values being observed in patients with visceral involvement (median 32.5 U/ml). CA-549 serum levels were also assessed in 51 patients at the start of treatment and at the time of objective evaluation: the results underline the concordance of CA-549 behavior with the clinical outcome in 71% of the cases. We conclude that CA-549 is a useful marker for monitoring breast cancer patients during the advanced stages of the disease.
authors: Division of Medical Oncology, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Bologna, Italy.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Zamagni
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Martoni
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Cacciari
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Bellanova
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Vecchi
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Pannuti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate / Q000097:blood*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000556:secondary; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C072700:CA549 glycoprotein, human; D006023:Glycoproteins