AIM: To evaluate the possibility of selected biomarkers for breast cancer diagnostics and/or treatment monitoring, lymph node (LN) status determination and clinical decision regarding axillary node dissection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred and eleven patients with malignant breast cancer and 42 age-matched healthy controls were enrolled. Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) and plasma epidermal growth factor (EGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and osteopontin (OPN) were measured. We compared patients versus controls, patients with negative versus positive lymph node and patients with and without axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). RESULTS: We found elevated IGF1 and VEGF levels in patients with lymph node metastases compared to controls (p=0.0179 and p=0.0091, respectively) and in patients with ALND (p=0.0337 and p=0.0438, respectively). CONCLUSION: Circulating IGF1 and VEGF levels may predict the presence of lymph node metastases and help in the decision to avoid ALND in patients with early-stage breast cancer.

Department of Surgery Faculty Hospital in Pilsen Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic

Laboratory of Immunoanalysis Faculty Hospital in Pilsen and Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen Charles University Prague Prague Czech Republic