Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second most common cause of
cancer death among women in the Western world. As understanding of the
pathophysiology of cancer increases, the role of tumor markers becomes more
important in the management of cancer patients. An ideal tumor marker should be
highly sensitive, specific, and reliable with high prognostic value, organ specific and
it should correlate with tumor stages. Human mammaglobin (hMAM) gene was
cloned in 1996, hMAM encodes a glycoprotein. The expression of hMAM was initially
believed to be restricted to the adult mammary gland and breast cancer cell lines. The
aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical reliability of each hMAM
mRNA and its transcripts as a tumor marker in breast cancer patients to diagnose
breast cancer. The subjects were selected from Oncology Department, Faculty of
Medicine Menoufiya University before hormonal, chemotherapy or surgical
treatment. Eighty six patients suffering from breast cancer and 59 subjects as a
control group were enrolled in this study. The control group was subdivided into 11
apparent healthy subjects (18.6%) and 48 patients served as patient control group
(81.4%) suffering from cancers rather than breast cancer. Results: A highly
significant increase in the mean serum level of hMAM was detected in the breast
cancer patients compared to the control group. Regarding expression of hMAM
mRNA, 50 females having breast cancer (73.5%) were positive, while it was negative
in 100% of females in the control group. This gave 73.5% sensitivity, 100%
specificity, 100% positive predictive value and 76% negative predictive value.
Conclusion: The expression of hMAM is restricted to breast epithelial cells. So,
hMAM is a promising marker of interest in breast cancer. Further studies are needed
to evaluate its usage for screening and staging of breast cancer.