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Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b as a serum marker of bone metastasis in breast cancer patients

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Journal of Biomedical Science

Abstract

Diagnosis and follow-up of bone metastases in breast cancer patients usually rely on symptoms and imaging studies. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP 5b) is a specific marker of osteoclasts and is herein proposed as a marker of bone metastasis in breast cancer patients. An immunoassay using a monoclonal antibody, 14G6, was used to measure the activity of serum TRACP 5b at pH 6.1 in 30 early breast cancer patients without bone metastasis and in 30 aged-matched breast cancer patients with bone metastasis. Another 60 normal volunteers were recruited as controls. Bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), a traditional marker of bone turnover, was also measured in selected cases. The overall mean TRACP 5b activity in normal women was 2.83 ± 1.1 U/I, and it increased with age. The mean TRACP 5b activity in early breast cancer patients did not differ from that of the normal group (2.93 ± 0.64 vs. 2.83 ± 1.1 U/I; p=0.66), whereas it was significantly higher in breast cancer patients with bone metastasis (5.42 ± 2.5 vs. 2.83 ± 1.1 U/I; p<0.0001). BAP activity was significantly higher in breast cancer patients with bone metastasis than in early breast cancer patients (p=0.004). Serum TRACP 5b activity correlated well with BAP activity in breast cancer patients with bone metastasis (p<0.0001), but not in normal individuals or in patients without bone metastasis. TRACP 5b activity can be considered a surrogate indicator of bone metastasis in breast cancer patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

    Tsu-Yi Chao, Ching-Liang Ho, Su-Huei Lee & Mary Mei-Ju Chen

  2. Division of Hematology, Veterans Administrative Medical Center, Louisville, Ky., USA

    Anthony Janckila & Lung T. Yam

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  1. Tsu-Yi Chao
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  2. Ching-Liang Ho
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  3. Su-Huei Lee
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  5. Anthony Janckila
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  6. Lung T. Yam
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Chao, TY., Ho, CL., Lee, SH. et al. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b as a serum marker of bone metastasis in breast cancer patients. J Biomed Sci 11, 511–516 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02256100

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02256100

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