Fatty acid synthase (FAS) expression in human breast cancer cell culture supernatants and in breast cancer patients

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is selectively expressed in certain human cancers , including carcinoma of the breast, prostate, colon, ovary, and endometriu m, compared to normal human tissues and therefore is a putative tumor marke r. In this study, we found FAS concentrations were elevated in cell culture supernatants during cell growth in two human breast cancer cell lines but not other cancer cell lines. A quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent ass ay and Western blot analysis were employed in this study. In addition, seru m FAS levels were significantly higher in breast cancer patients with diffe rent clinical stages (Stage II: 0.59 +/- 0.09 units/l, Stage III: 0.79 +/- 0.13 units/l and Stage IV: 1.39 +/- 0.35 units/l) compared with healthy sub jects (0.27 +/- 0.02 units/l, P < 0.05). Taken together, our data suggest t hat FAS expression may be a useful tumor marker for breast cancer and play a role in assessing cancer virulence. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd . All rights reserved.