title: Clinical significance and prognostic value of urinary nucleosides in breast cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Thirteen urinary nucleosides, primarily degradation products of tRNA, were evaluated as potential tumor markers for breast cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method has been used to analyze the urinary nucleosides in 41 healthy controls, 20 patients with benign breast tumors, and 26 breast cancer patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Urinary nucleoside concentrations of breast cancer patients were found to increase significantly compared to those of patients with benign breast tumors and healthy controls. By using 13 nucleoside concentrations as data vectors for principal component analysis (PCA), 73% (19/26) of breast cancer patients were correctly identified from healthy controls, while only 20% (4/20) of patients with benign breast tumors were indistinguishable from breast cancer patients. The mean level of all forms of urinary nucleosides in patients with metastatic breast cancer was higher than that in patients with primary breast cancer. The levels of modified nucleosides tended to decrease and return to normal after surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that urinary nucleosides may be useful as tumor markers for breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: National Chromatographic R&A Center, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116011, PR China.
authors.forename: Yu-Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Hong-Wei
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Jian-Hui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Shen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Guo-Wang
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000652:urine; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009705:Nucleosides / Q000652:urine; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D009705:Nucleosides