Evaluation of the relation between serum substance P levels and tissue distribution of NK-1 receptors with breast cancer staging

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequent neoplastic disease in women; and after lung cancer, it is the second leading cause of mortality from cancer in women. Therefore finding a prognostic fator could lead to an earlier diagnosis and more effective therapeutic options for patients. So this study was aimed to evaluate the serum substance P levels and tissue distribution of NK1 receptors in breast cancer different stages. Method: In this study, 41 patients primarily diagnosed with breast cancer were included. Serum levels of substance P was measured using ELISA method. Tissue distribution and expression of NK1 receptor was evaluated immunohistichemically in tumoral and healthy margins. Results: In this study, serum levels substance P in patients with breast cancer compared to healthy subjects significantly have increased but serum levels of SP between different staging groups showed no statistically significant difference. Although tumoral tissues had a higher expression of NK1 receptor than normal surrounding tissues, the difference between staging groups was statistically significant. Conclusion: substance P and NK1 are valuable markers to predict prognosis in breast cancer.

Keywords:

breast cancer , substance P (SP) , breast cancer staging , NK1