Association of peripheral CK19 mRNA expression with micrometastasis in patients with breast carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To detect the expression of CKI9 mRNA in peripheral blood in patients with breast carcinoma and to explore whether this expression can be used as a molecular biological marker for predicting micrometastasis and prognosis. Methods Peripheral serum samples were collected from 75 patients with breast carcinoma, 21 patients with benign breast lesions, and 20 healthy subjects. Expression of CK19 mRNA was detected by RT-PCR. Results The positive rate of CK19 mRNA was 36.0% in patients with breast carcinoma and 0% in those with benign breast lesions and in healthy subjects; and there were significant differences in the expression of CK19 mRNA among patients with breast carcinoma, those with benign breast lesions, and healthy subjects （P〈0.001）. The positive rate of CK19 mRNA positively correlated with the clinical stages （P〈0.05）. Conclusions CK19 mRNA can be detected in peripheral serum of breast carcinoma patients. CK19 mRNA expression closely correlates with the clinical stages in patients with breast carcinoma, suggesting this index can be used to predict micrometastasis and prognosis. Key words: Breast neoplasms; Metastasis; Keratin 19; RNA; Messenger