Abstract
Background:
Breast cancer risk increases during pregnancy and remains elevated for a number of years thereafter. Cancer-associated proteins that are secreted into breast milk may provide a means to detect cancer in the lactating breast or to assess future breast cancer risk.
Objective:
To determine whether proteins linked to breast cancer would be differentially expressed in matched (both breasts from each participant) human milk samples collected from women with unilateral breast cancer.
Methods:
Five cancer-associated proteins (basic fibroblast growth factor [bFGF], YKL-40, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, and transforming growth factor β1 and β2) were analyzed in milk provided by 5 lactating women, 4 of whom were known to have cancer in 1 breast (and the opposite breast clinically disease free) at the time of milk collection and 1 who developed breast cancer 2 years after milk collection.
Results:
Expression was significantly higher for TGFβ2 (
Conclusion:
These proteins may play a role in assessing a woman’s risk of pregnancy-associated breast cancer. Because of variable protein concentration among patients and the limited sample size, the results are considered preliminary.
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