title: CA 15-3 and c-erbB-2 presence in the saliva of women.
abstract: Two markers used to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer were examined in the saliva of a cohort of 135 healthy women. The investigators detected the presence of cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) and c-erbB-2 in the saliva sampled from the 135 women. The marker concentrations for CA 15-3 and c-erbB-2 were also evaluated and compared in terms of tobacco usage, menopausal status, estrogen usage, systemic diseases, prescription medications, race, and age. The results of the study showed no association between the aforementioned variables and salivary marker concentrations. The results of this study establish a baseline for measuring the biomarkers in the saliva of women with no evidence of malignant disease and add further support to the notion that salivary concentrations of CA 15-3 and c-erbB-2 may be useful in the detection of breast cancer and/or the post operative follow-up of patients being treated for carcinoma of the breast.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, University of Mississippi Medical Center, School of Dentistry, Jackson 39216-4505, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Streckfus
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bigler
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dellinger
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfeifer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rose
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Thigpen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay; D016014:Linear Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D018396:Mucin-1 / Q000032:analysis*; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis*; D012016:Reference Values; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000032:analysis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018396:Mucin-1; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides