Abstract
Background and Objectives: Soluble cell adhesion molecules (sCAMs) play a significant role in the metastatic potential of breast cancer (BC). They might block lymphocytes and promote angiogenesis and migration of cancer cells. We assessed the usefulness of sCAMs in the prognosis and monitoring of the progression of advanced BC. Materials and Methods: We assessed soluble E-selectin, P-selectin, VCAM-1, ICAM-1, EpCAM, IL-6Ra, TNF-R1, and TNF-R2 in 39 women with aBC. Blood samples were obtained at the beginning of the treatment and after 2 months. Results: The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 9 months, and overall survival (OS) was 27 months. The higher levels of sICAM-1 (HR = 2.60, p = 0.06) and lower levels of sEpCAM (HR = 2.72, p < 0.05) were associated with faster progression of aBC. High levels of sEpCAM through the follow-up period were significantly associated with a lower risk of progression (HR = 0.40, p < 0.01). We found the independent predictive value of higher than median sICAM-1 levels for PFS (HR = 2.07, p = 0.08) and of sVCAM-1 levels for OS (HR = 2.59, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our data support the predictive value of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 and suggest that they could become markers for tailoring new therapies in aBC. sEpCAM level could be used as an early indicator of response to the therapy.
Highlights
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy and one of the leading causes of cancer death among women worldwide
We showed that assessment of sICAM-1 is useful for the prediction of progression-free survival (PFS) and sVCAM-1 for the prediction of overall survival (OS), besides routinely assessed receptor status and antigen Ki67
The sensitivity analysis restricted to the luminal HER2 negative advanced breast cancer (aBC)—the most common subtype—showed a similar pattern; the findings were not statistically significant, probably due to the small size of the study cohort
Summary
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy and one of the leading causes of cancer death among women worldwide. 5–10% of the patients have metastases at the time of diagnosis, and 30–40% of women with early breast cancer (eBC) progress to metastatic disease [2,3]. Soluble cell adhesion molecules (sCAMs) play a significant role in the metastatic potential of breast cancer (BC). They might block lymphocytes and promote angiogenesis and migration of cancer cells. The higher levels of sICAM-1 (HR = 2.60, p = 0.06) and lower levels of sEpCAM (HR = 2.72, p < 0.05) were associated with faster progression of aBC. We found the independent predictive value of higher than median sICAM-1 levels for PFS (HR = 2.07, p = 0.08) and of sVCAM-1 levels for OS (HR = 2.59, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our data support the predictive value of sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 and suggest that they could become markers for tailoring new therapies in aBC. sEpCAM level could be used as an early indicator of response to the therapy
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