engleski

Can tumor marker CA 15-3 predict metastatic bone involvement in patients with breast carcinoma?

Aim. To assess the interrelation of serum tumor marker CA 15-3 determined by immunoradiometric assay and Tc-99m-MDP bone scan in women with breast cancer. Methods. Retrospectivly, 66 women (59&#177; 11 yrs, range 32-77 yrs) reffered to our Department for bone scan of histologically proven breast carcinoma were anallyzed. In 36 patients serum levels od CA 15-3 were detemined 3-25 day before, in 9 patients 3-20 days after, and in 20 patients on the same day as bone scan. The CA 15-3<27 U/mL was considered normal. Without the knowledge of CA 15-3 results, Tc-99m MDP bone scans were interpreted as: normal-no pathologic deposits of activity, equivocal:<3 deposits, and positive if &#8805; 3 deposits were found. Results. CA 15-3 was elevated in 14 (77.8%) out of 18 patiens with positive bone scans. In the group of 40 patients with normal bone scans, CA 15-3 was normal in 32 (80%) of them. The bone scans were equivocal in 8 women, and only one of them had elevated CA 15-3 levels.The bone scans were positive in 60.9% of patients with elevated CA 15-3 levels, and in 74.4% of patients with normal CA 15-3 bone scans were also negative.In 8 patients (34.8%) there was no evidence of metastatic bone involvement despite elevated CA 15-3, while in 4 patients (9.4%) positive bone scans were depicted despite normal CA 15-3. Among them, two opatients had been treated with chemotherapy for several weeks before bone scan, and 2 other patients were receiving antiestrogen therapy at the time of bone scan. CA 15-3 median was 91.4 U/mL (range 14.3-725 U/mL) in patients with positive bone scans, and the mean values were 14.2&#177; 10.2 and 22.8&#177; 18.5 U/mL in patients with equivocal and negative bone scans, respectively. Conclusion. CA 15-3 values alone cannot accurately predict metastatic bone involvement in breast cancer.

CA 15-3; breast carcinoma; bone scan; metastasis

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