Abstract:

Objective To investigate the role of serum human epidermal growth factor receptor 2（HER-2）extracellular domain（ECD）in breast cancer patients. Methods A total of 93 breast cancer patients,40 benign breast disease patients and 55 healthy females were enrolled,and serum HER-2 ECD levels were determined by chemiluminescence. The consistency between serum HER-2 ECD level and the expression of tissue HER-2,the relation between serum HER-2 ECD and clinical pathological characteristics,and the efficacy in diagnosing breast cancer were analyzed. Results The level of serum HER-2 ECD in breast cancer group [16.00（12.30,20.10）ng/mL] was higher than those in benign breast disease group [6.05（4.85,7.95）ng/mL,P<0.05] and healthy control group [5.30（4.00,6.80）ng/mL,P<0.05]. The positive rate of serum HER-2 ECD in breast cancer patients with tissue HER-2 expression positive was 73.08%,and the consistency between serum HER-2 ECD and tissue HER-2 expression was good. The difference of serum HER-2 ECD levels with different histological grades,lymph node metastasis or not and different clinical stages had statistical significance（P<0.05）. Conclusions Serum HER-2 ECD is related to the clinical characteristics of breast cancer. So,it is expected to become a valuable laboratory parameter in diagnosing breast cancer in early stage,monitoring treatment efficacy and judging the prognosis of breast cancer patients.

Key words: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, Breast cancer, Chemiluminescence