Estimation of Serum CA 15-3 Levels with Its Cytological and Histopathological Correlation in Breast Lesions

Background: Breast cancer makes the major burden of carcinomas in females. Timely diagnosis and treatment is the key. CA 15-3 is a tumour marker which is useful in diagnosis as well as prognosis of breast cancer. Materials & Methods: 100 cases of breast carcinoma were studied in a tertiary care hospital. Pre-operative CA 15-3 levels were done in all cases. Post-operative CA 15-3 levels were done in 60 patients and correlated with prognosis and metastasis. These findings were correlated with age, size, cytological, histopathological and IHC markers. Results: High pre-operative CA 15-3 result correlated with higher age of patient, bigger size of lesion, higher cytological grade, higher grade in histopathological examination, decrease ER and PR status and higher Her2neu grading. Hence high levels of pre-operative CA 15-3 correlate with bad prognosis. High post-operative CA 15-3 values correlated with re-occurrence or metastasis. Conclusion: In a developing country like India, CA 15-3 is a good tumour marker to screen for breast carcinoma. If the results of CA 15-3 are correlated with triple-test, it makes the diagnosis easier. Also the value of CA 15-3 provides an insight into the grading and staging of breast tumors. Moreover, CA 15-3 done for follow – up gives us an idea of re-occurrence or metastasis if any. This tumor marker should not be underestimated by surgeons and oncologists