Mass Spectrometry Based Serum Protein Profiling for the Early Detection of Breast Cancer.

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SELECTBIO

Background, Mammography is the gold standard for screening purposes with a sensitivity of 78% for women >50 years and 40% for younger women. A specific and sensitive alternative to mammography is the use of proteomic biomarkers. By comparing the protein patterns in serum of patients with breast cancer with those of healthy controls, proteins that are most discriminating can be identified. A combination of magnetic beads was investigated for further improvement of sensitivity and specificity. Method, Serum samples were obtained from 105 breast cancer patients and 202 controls using a standardized collection and processing protocol. MALDI-TOF protein profiles were generated after automated fractionation and spotting (96-chanal pipetting robot, Hamiltonrobotics) and spectra were generated using WCX as well as RPC-18 functionalized magnetic beads. Results, Results show a discriminating profile for WCX magnetic beads, with a RR of 86%, sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 88%. With RPC18 magnetic beads these percentages were 73% sensitivity and 93% specificity respectively. Preliminary analyses show that a combination of both spectra improves the diagnostic potentialities to a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 95%. Conclusions, These relatively high discriminating results indicate the potential applicability of serum protein profiles for early detection of breast cancer.