Circulating Growth and Angiogenic Factors and Lymph Node Status in Early-stage Breast Cancer - A Pilot Study.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Case-control biomarker study comparing cancer patients to healthy controls
What was done
Serum IGF1 and IGFBP3, alongside plasma EGF, VEGF, OPG, and OPN, were measured in 211 patients with malignant breast cancer and 42 age-matched healthy controls. Biomarker levels were compared between cancer patients and controls, between patients with positive versus negative lymph node status, and between patients with and without axillary lymph node dissection (ALND).
What was found
IGF1 and VEGF levels were elevated in patients with lymph node metastases compared to controls (p=0.0179 and p=0.0091, respectively) and in patients who underwent ALND compared to controls (p=0.0337 and p=0.0438, respectively). The abstract does not provide absolute concentration values, effect sizes, diagnostic accuracy metrics, or results for IGFBP3, EGF, OPG, and OPN.
Why it matters
Identifying non-invasive circulating biomarkers could potentially assist in assessing lymph node involvement and reducing unnecessary axillary lymph node dissections in early-stage breast cancer.
Limits
The abstract provides only p-values with no numerical concentrations, confidence intervals, or diagnostic performance measures. Direct statistical comparisons between node-positive and node-negative cancer patients are not reported in the abstract despite being listed in the study methods. As a pilot study, findings require validation in larger prospective cohorts.
Cited by
- supports Cancer presence can lead to elevated circulating VEGF levels in blood tests, which can be measured to monitor tumor progression or active metastasis.