ObjectiveTo evaluate mammaglobin (hMAM)
mRNA expression as a
tumor marker for micrometastatic
carcinoma cells in the peripheral
blood of
patients with
breast cancer (BC). MethodsTotal
RNA extracted from a
breast carcinoma cell line SKBR3 was subjected to
analysis of hMAM
mRNA expression by RT-PCR. The
sensitivity of FQ-
PCR to detect a SKBR3
cell at a level of 10 7 was established. Peripheral
blood of 63 BC
patients was examined by this
method. ResultsBlood samples were positive in 19 out of 63 (30%)
patients with
breast carcinomas. None of the
patients with other
cancer (25 cases) or benign
breast disease (13 cases) was positive and only 1 out of 31
healthy volunteers was found with detectable hMAM
mRNA expression in the peripheral
blood. ConclusionFluorescence quantitative (FQ)
PCR combined with nest
PCR was a sensitive
method in detecting
micrometastases of
breast cancer.