Serum proteins in breast cancer.

Thirty-nine women admitted to the Main Medical Center for biopsy of a lump in the breast has been followed sequentially for six months to determine whether a diagnostic profile of plasma protein changes occurs in early breast cancer, compared to non malignant breast disease, and whether plasma protein changes in breast cancer patients could be correlated with the spread of the tumor. Eighteen women had early operable breast cancer and twenty-one had benign breast disease. Each patient had 10 serum proteins measured preoperatively and post-operatively at three and six months. The patients with breast cancer had significantly higher levels of beta 2 glycoprotein preoperatively and ceruloplasmin at six months postoperatively than those with benign breast disease. There were a number of significant correlations between serum protein levels and the progression of breast cancer as measured by the clinical score. There were significant correlation with ceruloplasmin properatively and at three months postoperatively. Prealbumin and hemopexin showed correlations preoperatively: alpha 1 antitrypsin and beta 2 glycoprotein only correlated at three months postoperatively. Longer follow up will be required to establish the value of serum protein changes which could predict the development of metastases in patients with breast cancer.