Possible Diagnostic Application of CXCL12 and CXCR4 as Tumor Markers in Breast Cancer Patients.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Chemokines are cytokines involved not only in inflammatory but also in inappropriate response of the immune system in breast cancer (BC) progression. We examined the diagnostic usefulness of CXCL12, CXCR4 and CA 15-3 in BC patients, based on ROC curve analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 100 patients with BC; the control group consisted of 35 women with benign breast disease and 35 healthy patients. The median concentration of chemokines was measured by ELISA and that of CA 15-3 by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. RESULTS: The concentrations of CXCL12 and CXCR4 in the BC group were significantly higher than those in the control groups. The AUC value of CXCL12 (0.7502) was the highest of all the chemokines measured in the BC patients. CONCLUSION: There may be a link between CXCL12, CXCR4 and BC that can assist in the diagnosis, markedly when combined with CA 15-3.

Immunohistochemical expression of Fascin-1 in colorectal cancer in relation to clinical and pathological parameters.

INTRODUCTION: Fascins are a group of proteins taking part in the maintenance of a proper structure of the cellular cytoskeleton. Fascin-1 is an actin-bundling protein present in neurons, fibroblasts, endothelial, smooth muscle, dendritic and mesenchymal cells whereas lack of its expression is characteristic of epithelial cells. Fascin-1 overexpression can be observed in neoplastic cells. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the expression of Fascin-1 protein in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and to analyze associations between Fascin-1 ex-pression and clinical-pathological parameters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study material included postoperative samples (tumor and unchanged colon tissue) ob-tained from 51 CRC patients. Fascin-1 expression was assessed in the paraffin sections by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: A statistically significant correlation was found between the histological type of cancer and the expres-sion of Fascin-1 (p = 0.012). Increased expression of Fascin-1 in CRC was more frequent in adenocarcinoma type without the mucosal component with a better prognosis and decreased expression of this protein correlated with infiltration of cancer cells to blood and lymphatic vessels (p = 0.038). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate a potential role of Fascin-1 in the pathogenesis of colon cancer; however, further studies will show whether this protein plays a role in the infiltration of colorectal cancer cells.