Clinical value of a mucin-like carcinoma-associated antigen in monitoring breast cancer patients in comparison with CA 15-3.

Miserez AR; Günes I; Müller-Brand J; Walther E; Fridrich R; Mäcke H

doi:10.1016/0277-5379(91)90468-s

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Journal article

Clinical value of a mucin-like carcinoma-associated antigen in monitoring breast cancer patients in comparison with CA 15-3.

Miserez AR Institute of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland.
Günes I
Müller-Brand J
Walther E
Fridrich R
Mäcke H

1991-01-01

Published in:

European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990). - 1991

Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate

English A new tumour marker, mucin-like carcinoma-associated antigen (MCA), was evaluated in 176 breast cancer patients classified either as free of tumour (NED, n = 141) or as having metastases (PD, n = 35). During the 5 year follow-up, 842 measurements of MCA and 363 measurements of CA 15-3 were done. MCA levels were significantly increased in the PD group (P = 0.0001) but not in the NED group. The sensitivities of the MCA and the CA 15-3 assays were 84% and 78% and the specificities were 81% and 78%, respectively. The negative predictive value of 97% for MCA was significantly higher (P = 0.0001) than the 88% for CA 15-3. Thus the MCA enzyme immunoassay is at least equivalent to the CA 15-3 test and is recommended in the assessment of metastatic spread or tumour recurrence in breast cancer patients.

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