The early detection of recurrence is still a major challenging problem after primary surgical treatment of breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of CA 15-3 test on the recurrence of breast cancer after
primary
treatment. During the period from July 1990 to December 1993, 45 patients with recurrent breast cancer were diagnosed using bone X-ray, bone scan, US, CT and MRI at Kyungpook National University Hospital.
Serum CA 15-3 levels were measured by immunoradiometric assay in 45 patients with recurrent breast cancer (Group B: 9 patients-with local recurrence only, Group C: 6 patients with local and distant metastasis, Group D: 30 patients with distant
metastasis only. ), and also in the patients with primary breast cancer used as a control group during the same period (Group A: 34 patients who revealed no evidence of local recurrence of distant metastasis after primary treatment).
The mean values of CA 15-3 were 8.84 U/ml in Group A, 17.82 U/ml in Group B, 136.43 U/ml in group C and 138.87 U/ml Group D respectively.
At the base of normal upper limit (21 U/ml), the sensitivity of CA 15-3 test for distant metastasis was 61.1%, and specificity was 94.1%. In 8 patients with distant metastasis, their CA 15-3 level doubled when compared with the levels at the time
of no
metastasis.
Using student T-test, there was no significant difference in CA 15-3 values between Group A and B, and the mean value of CA 15-3 in Group D was elevated significantly compared with the mean value of CA 15-3 in Group B (P<0.005) These results
suggest
that CA 15-3 test is a simple and relatively accurate technique reflecting distant metastasis rather than local recurrence in the breast cancer.
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