Significance of serum colony-stimulating factor-1 as a breast cancer marker

11071 Background: A specific and sensitive biomarker that indicates the presence of breast cancer is highly desirable, yet available markers are of limited value. Colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) is involved in mammary gland development and mediates breast cancer progression. Earlier work indicated correlation of serum CSF-1 with breast cancer staging, and a recent report suggests that CSF-1 is a potential breast cancer marker, however the data reported so far await validation. Methods: In a prospective study in 799 women with no history of malignant disease undergoing surgery, serum CSF-1 levels were measured by a commercially available ELISA. In this cohort, 312 patients had breast cancer and 487 age-matched women had benign tumors. The tumor size, nodal and metastasis status, histological tumor type, hormone and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and menopausal status were evaluated. Mean CSF-1 serum concentrations were compared between the patient groups by non-parametric Wilcoxon two-...