Evaluation the Diagnostic and Prognostic Value of Human Mammaglobin (MGB 1) Gene Expression in Iraqi Breast Cancer Patients

Breast cancer is the most frequent carcinoma in females and the second most common cause of cancer related mortality in women. Early detection of breast cancer is widely reported to be one of the most effective ways leading to better prognosis and lower death rate. For marker discovery, the analysis of mRNA expression signatures in peripheral human blood has been widely used showing to be a promising technique. The human mammaglobin (MGB 1) is a novel gene that was diagnosed as a highly specific marker for primary breast cancer. The aim of the present study is to detect the expression levels of the human mammaglobin (MGB 1) mRNAs in the peripheral blood of breast cancer patients in comparison with benign tumors and healthy controls as a tool for screening and diagnosis the early stage breast cancers, and estimating the prognostic values of these levels in association with age, tumor size and lymph node status. The marker was determined in peripheral blood (PB) of 55 patients with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma and samples from 20 healthy donors, and 10 women with newly diagnosed benign breast tumors were served as control group using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Mammaglobin was detected in 30 (54.5%) of peripheral blood of breast cancer patients studied, 1(10%) of the benign tumors but not in any of healthy individuals. It showed statistically significant relations with size of the tumor, and Lymph node involvement. On the other hand, it was statistically non- significant for age of breast cancer patients. The present study results suggest that mammaglobin is a specific molecular marker for detection of breast cancer, discrimination between benign and malignant breast tumors, and it might be of value as a prognostic marker.