Levels of ca 15-3 and cea in newly diagnose carcinoma breast patients

The term “breast cancer” refers to a malignant tumor that has developed from cells in the breast. This implies the incidence in both the sexes though more lethal in males.85-90% of the cases show genetic abnormality. Only 5-10% is due to abnormally inherited from either of the parents .This occurs as a result of aging process that happens as a result of “aging process” and wear and tear of life in general. It more often begins in the cells of the lobules which are milk-producing glands or ducts or the ducts, the passages that drain milk from lobules to nipples. In addition to traditional prognostic factors, such as axillary lymph node status, tumor size, hormone receptor expression and HER-2 expression status, multigene assay and gene expression profiling have also been spotlighted. All these require tissue samples. Progressive reduction in size can make it difficult to obtain samples for them. On the other hand serum is easily accessible and soluble circulating tumor markers, if found to be accurate prognostic factor, would be ideal candidates for predicting outcome and monitoring treatment course. Markers like CA 15-3 and CEA have been the easily accessible, simple, objective, reproducible, cost effective and feasible. Due to low sensitivity and specificity, both CA 15-3 and CEA have no value for detecting primary Carcinoma Breast. They can be useful in predicting prognosis, monitoring treatment response and surveillance.