title: CA15-3, CASA, MSA, and TPS as diagnostic serum markers in breast cancer.
abstract: This is the first comparison of the three mucin based tests CA15-3, CASA, and MSA, and the cytokeratin-related TPS assay in breast cancer. The mucin markers were superior to TPS in receiver-operator analysis, though no marker was of use in the diagnosis of malignancy due to low sensitivity. Using cutpoints that gave 95% specificity in benign disease (n = 83), corresponding sensitivities in pre-treatment breast cancer (n = 123: 13 in situ, 54 stage I, 45 stage II, 4 stage III, 7 stage IV) were 17% (CA15-3), 16% (CASA), 13% (MSA), and 8% (TPS), with a strong relationship between marker levels and disease stage. These assays did not always detect the same patients, and the use of CA15-3 combined with CASA gave the highest sensitivity (23%), though this was not significantly better than the use of CA15-3 alone. Despite detecting similar antigens, these assays can show markedly different responses in some patients, indicating that one mucin-based test cannot be substituted for another.
authors.affiliation: Dept. Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Devine
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Duroux
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Quin
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: McGuckin
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Joy
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Pollard
mesh_terms: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D018396:Mucin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010455:Peptides / Q000097:blood*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018396:Mucin-1; D010455:Peptides; C053409:mammary serum antigen, human; C089984:tissue polypeptide specific antigen