NEW-PROTEIN AND PCR MARKERS RAK FOR DIAGNOSIS, PROGNOSIS AND SURGERY GUIDANCE FOR BREAST-CANCER

Breast cancer antigens RAK-p120, -p42, -p25 were detected in 100% of b reast cancer cases tested (71 cases). Only 10% of adjacent tissue case s tested positive for all three cancer antigens, and 17.5% of the case s tested positive for two antigens only. Eighty-five percent of histol ogically normal breast tissue samples, isolated either from breast can cer patients or patients with advanced fibrocystic disease, tested RAK -negative, with the exception of low expression of p25, observed in so me patients. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with HIV-1 gp 41-derived primers revealed cancer-associated DNA fragments of similar size (140 bp) as in HIV-1 genome, Fifty-four percent of cancer adjacent tissues, and 50% of malignancy-free breast tissue samples, tested PCR-negative . It is suggested that genetic predisposition to cancer may be associa ted with the presence of RAK genes, while expression of RAK antigens m arks an already ongoing process of malignant changes. (C) 1997 Elsevie r Science Ireland Ltd.