Serum calcitonin gene-related neuropeptide (CGRP) in patients with benign and malignant breast lesions: Correlation with mammographic breast density.

Abstract

78 Background: The aim of this study was to assess the variation of the serum neo-angiogenic neuropeptide CGRP in patients with benign and malignant breast lesions and to evaluate its possible correlation with mammographic findings. Methods: Our study included forty eight women with histologically confirmed breast lesions: mild epithelial hyperplasia (MEH): n=12, florid epithelial hyperplasia (FEH): n=5, atypical hyperplasia (AH): n=4, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): n=5, mixed in situ with invasive ductal carcinoma (DCIS+IDC): n=9 and pure IDC: n=13. Serum CGRP levels were measured by RIA methods and compared among the various groups by Mann-Whitney test. Mammographic breasy density (BD%) was calculated using computer-assisted methods and was correlated with serum CGRP concentration by applying linear regression analysis. Results: Serum CGRP concentration (mean±SD: pg/mL) in the various groups, was: MEH: 96.8±22.5, FEH: 135.5±33.5, AH: 139±44.4, DCIS: 131.4±37.5, DCIS+IDC: 1167.5±927.5, pure IDC: 198±82. DCIS+IDC lesions presented statistically significantly higher serum CGRP levels (versus: MEH p<0.001, FEH p<0.001, AH p<0.001, DCIS p<0.001 and IDC p<0.001). Serum CGRP concentration presented statistically significant correlation with BD% (r=0.947, p<0.0001). Conclusions: Statistically increased serum CGRP concentration was determined in women with DCIS+IDC lesions. The significant correlation between serum CGRP levels and BD, enhances the suggestion that DCIS+IDC represents a distinct pathological entity, associated with an interactive mechanism between BD and serum CGRP expression. Therefore, serum CGRP levels could constitute a future useful preoperative index of the nature or type of suspicious mammographic lesions, in order to schedule the appropriate therapeutic treatment, and potentially propounds the perspective of adjunctive therapeutic administration of anti-CGRP peptides.