Thean E T, Toh B H
Department of Pathology and Immunology, Monash Medical School, Prahran, Victoria, Australia.
Br J Cancer. 1990 May;61(5):773-5. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1990.173.
Serum levels of alpha-lactalbumin were assayed using a monoclonal antibody specific for this breast specific molecule. Elevated levels were found in 87% (48/55) of sera from women in the third trimester of pregnancy (29.1 +/- 7.4 ng ml-1), from 64% (62/97) of patients with breast cancer (23.4 +/- 5.6 ng ml-1), and from 70% (56/80) of patients with gynaecological cancers (19.4 +/- 6.7 ng ml-1). These alpha-lactalbumin levels were significantly higher (P less than 0.001) than those for men and non-pregnant women (11.0 +/- 2.3 ng ml-1) and for patients with other, non-gynaecological cancers (13.4 +/- 3.6 ng ml-1). The alpha-lactalbumin levels were higher in patients with stage IV breast cancer than those with stage I-III breast cancer. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the radioimmunoassay were 72% and 75% respectively. These findings suggest that the assessment of serum levels of alpha-lactalbumin may be useful as a marker for monitoring breast cancer.
使用针对这种乳腺特异性分子的单克隆抗体测定血清α-乳白蛋白水平。妊娠晚期女性血清中87%（48/55）的α-乳白蛋白水平升高（29.1±7.4 ng/ml），乳腺癌患者中有64%（62/97）升高（23.4±5.6 ng/ml），妇科癌症患者中有70%（56/80）升高（19.4±6.7 ng/ml）。这些α-乳白蛋白水平显著高于男性、未孕女性（11.0±2.3 ng/ml）以及其他非妇科癌症患者（13.4±3.6 ng/ml）（P<0.001）。IV期乳腺癌患者的α-乳白蛋白水平高于I-III期乳腺癌患者。放射免疫分析的总体敏感性和特异性分别为72%和75%。这些发现表明，测定血清α-乳白蛋白水平可能作为监测乳腺癌的一个有用标志物。
