Clinical Usefulness of Circulating Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) in Breast Cancer

Sung, Hyun Ju; Kim, Sin young; Kim, Chang Ki; Choi, Jong Rak; Song, Kyung Soon

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a cytokine modulating epithelial cell proliferation and motility. A circulating HGF level is frequently increased in a variety of tumors including advanced breast cancer. The clinical usefulness of measuring circulating HGF in breast cancerwas evaluated in this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The plasma HGF levels in patients with primary (n=58) and recurrent breast cancer (n=13) were measured by the ELISA method using Quantikine (R&D, Minneapolis, MN, USA) kit. The results were compared with those of age-matched healthy controls (n=53). The mean (+/-SD) levels of HGF were also compared between primary and recurrent breast cancerpatients. The correlation of the circulating HGF level and the conventional prognostic factors such as tumor size, lymph node involvement, Her-2/neu over-expression, DNA aneuploidy was studied to evaluate the clinical usefulness of HGF as a new prognostic indicator in breast cancer. RESULTS: Plasma HGF levels (mean+/-SD) increased in breast cancer patients (788+/-853 pg/mL), compared with those of age-matched healthy control women (426+/-120 pg/mL) (P<0.05). Patients with recurrent breast cancer (1, 945+/-1, 544 pg/mL) showed increased HGF levels compared with primary breast cancer (592+/-132 pg/mL) (P<0.001). No significant correlations between plasmaHGF levels and conventional prognostic indicators of breast cancer including tumor size, lymphnode involvement, Her-2/neu over-expression, DNA aneuploidy, and histologic grade were found. CONCLUSIONS: The above findings suggest that the measurement of plasma HGF levels in breast cancer patients may be useful for early detection of recurrence.