title: Clinical value of a new tumor marker (M.C.A.) in the breast cancer follow-up.
abstract: The authors evaluated the levels of a mucinous-like carcinoma antigen (M.C.A.) in the serum of 105 follow-up patients with breast carcinoma by means of an enzyme immunoassay. The negative/positive cut-off level determined in a group of healthy women was 13.2 U/ml. 80 patients turned out to be free disease, while 25 patients showed relapse or metastasis. High levels of MCA were observed in 72.0% of the patients with renewal of the neoplastic disease as well as in 12.5% of the free disease subjects. The EIA method appeared to have a good specificity (87.5%) and a fair test efficiency (83.8%). On the contrary, its sensitivity (72.0%) and its predictive value (64.3%) were not completely satisfactory. Therefore we think the matter needs to be studied more deeply and so does the case-report.
authors.affiliation: Centro Tumori, U.L.S.S. 8, Vicenza, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cappellari
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bagarella
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corradi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood*; D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008408:Mastectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000175:diagnosis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C057387:mucinous carcinoma-associated antigen