Detection of elevated plasma levels of epidermal growth factor receptor before breast cancer diagnosis among hormone therapy users.
Applying advanced proteomic technologies to prospectively collected specimens from large studies is one means of identifying preclinical changes in plasma proteins that are potentially relevant to the early detection of diseases such as breast cancer. We conducted 14 independent quantitative proteomics experiments comparing pooled plasma samples collected from 420 estrogen receptor-positive (ER(+)) breast cancer patients ≤17 months before their diagnosis and matched controls. Based on the more than 3.4 million tandem mass spectra collected in the discovery set, 503 proteins were quantified, of which 57 differentiated cases from controls with a P value of <0.1. Seven of these proteins, for which quantitative ELISA assays were available, were assessed in an independent validation set. Of these candidates, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was validated as a predictor of breast cancer risk in an independent set of preclinical plasma samples for women overall [odds ratio (OR), 1.44; P = 0.0008] and particularly for current users of estrogen plus progestin (E + P) menopausal hormone therapy (OR, 2.49; P = 0.0001). Among current E + P users, the EGFR sensitivity for breast cancer risk was 31% with 90% specificity. Whereas the sensitivity and specificity of EGFR are insufficient for a clinically useful early detection biomarker, this study suggests that proteins that are elevated preclinically in women who go on to develop breast cancer can be discovered and validated using current proteomic technologies. Further studies are warranted to examine the role of EGFR and to discover and validate other proteins that could potentially be used for early detection of breast cancer.
Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA.
Sharon J
SJ
Pitteri
Lynn M
LM
Amon
Tina
T
Busald Buson
Yuzheng
Y
Zhang
Melissa M
MM
Johnson
Alice
A
Chin
Jacob
J
Kennedy
Chee-Hong
CH
Wong
Qing
Q
Zhang
Hong
H
Wang
Paul D
PD
Lampe
Ross L
RL
Prentice
Martin W
MW
McIntosh
Samir M
SM
Hanash
Christopher I
CI
Li
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001940:Breast / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D018275:Carcinoma, Lobular / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000097:blood*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011372:Progestins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D040901:Proteomics; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D015996:Survival Rate; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
D004967:Estrogens; D011372:Progestins; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; C512478:EGFR protein, human; D066246:ErbB Receptors