Abstract:Objective:To explore the correlation between the expression of EMA and EGP-2mRNA with tumor micrometastases in peripheral blood of breast cancer (BC).
Methods :EMA and EGP-2mRNA were detected by RT-PCR in 53 patients with breast carcinoma， and 24 patients with benign breast lesions. The relationship between EMA and EGP-2mRNA expression and clinical indexes was analyzed.
Results:The positive rate of EMA and EGP-2mRNA expression in the cancer group was 33.96%and 28.30% respectively， and no case of positive EMAmRNA expression and only one case of EGP-2mRNA expression was found in peripheral blood in 24 patients with breast benign lesions (all P<0.05). A significant correlation was found between expressions of EMA and EGP-2mRNA with axillary lymph node metastasis and TNM stage in B C group. The sensitivity and accuracy rate of combined detection of EMA and EGP-2mRNA was 52.83% and 66.23% respectively and was much higher than that of EGP-2mRNA detection.
Conclusions:Combined detection of EMA and EGP-2 obviously can improve the accuracy rate in B C. Both of them can be used as tumor markers to detect micrometastases of breast cancer. This may have an impact upon therapeutic recommendations and prognostic judgment in breast cancer patients.