title: Usefulness of serum CA 15.3 and histopathological prognostic indices in breast cancer.
abstract: Prognostic factors influence the modality and course of therapy in breast cancer. These include both histopathological and biochemical variables. This study was aimed to find out if any correlation exists between the biochemical tumor marker-serum CA 15.3, and the lymph node staging of Nottingham's Prognostic Index (NPI). It was observed that serum CA 15.3 showed a statistically significant correlation with lymph node staging of NPI. Therefore it is concluded that CA 15.3 can be utilized as a useful prognostic marker, particularly in cases where histopathological variables such as tumor size and grade have been altered by pre-operative chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, St. John's Medical College, Sarjapur Road, John Nagar, 560034 Bangalore.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nalini
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Wilma Delphine Silvia
authors.forename: Purnima M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Makhija
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uthappa
keywords: Breast Cancer; CA 15.3; NPI; Nottingham’s Prognostic Index