Expression of tumour markers CA50, CEA and TPA in female breast carcinoma as related to histopathological findings and survival.

Expression of the tumour markers CEA, TPA and CA 50 was determined immunohistochemically (using a staining index, I) in paraffin embedded biopsy specimens from 114 female breast carcinomas, with special emphasis on tumour histology and patient prognosis. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 58.1 (13.1) years and they were prospectively followed-up for a mean of 12.4 years. The mean (SD) staining index (I) values were as follows: for CEA 0.14 (0.35) (range 0.00-3.00) for TPA 2.01 (0.77) (range 0.00-3.00) and for CA 50 0.36 (0.67) (range 0.00-3.00). Grade I tumours showed higher positivity for TPA than grade III tumours (p = 0.0038). The irregularity of nuclei was related to TPA positivity, in that the tumours with regular nuclei had higher I values for TPA positivity, than tumours with highly irregular nuclei (p = 0.08). Breast cancer-related survival significantly correlated with TPA positivity as well (p = 0.047). The CEA and CA 50 positivity were not significantly related to clinical or histological variables. Survival could not be predicted significantly by means of CEA or CA 50 quantitation. Our results show that it is possible to quantitate the expression of the tumour markers CEA, TPA and CA 50 in breast cancer in paraffin sections. CEA and CA 50 immunohistochemistry does not possess any significant predictive value in breast cancer, whereas TPA expression might be utilized in discriminating malignant subtypes of breast cancers from the more benign ones.