Enhanced information with Tumor Markers

CEA, CA 15-3, BR 27.29 and Serum HER-2/neu are tumor markers that can help clinicians manage breast cancer. CEA, CA 15-3 and BR 27.29 may be used for Stage II through Stage IV breast cancer, while Serum HER-2/neu may be used with Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer. Preoperative levels may be taken to establish a baseline serum level. Subsequently, serum levels may be serially monitored – increasing levels may indicate progression, while decreasing levels may indicate response to treatment. Tumor markers should be used in conjunction with other clinical tools.

Each year 1.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer globally, and 25% of these cases are HER-2 positive. HER-2 positive breast cancer is an aggressive type of breast cancer that has been shown to be an indicator of poor prognosis, higher probability of recurrence and decreases overall survival. HER-2/neu is a biomarker for HER-2 positive breast cancer. Traditional HER-2/neu testing has been generally limited to tissue from primary breast cancer. It is used as a predictor of response to therapy but cannot monitor the real-time responses patients will go through during the clinical course of disease. The Siemens Serum HER-2/neu test is a simple blood test that can help manage the disease of metastatic breast cancer patients whose initial Serum HER-2/neu level is > 15 ng/mL.

“My first experiences with measuring Serum HER-2/neu for metastatic breast cancer showed that in many cases, after patients were given chemotherapy, if the treatment was working, serum levels would rapidly decrease in the first three to four weeks after treatment. We confirmed our serum readings with a CT scan.”

Jean-Pierre Lotz, MD, Chief Medical Oncologist, Université Pierre et Marie Curie’s Hôpital Tenon, Paris, France