A Lower Serum Antioxidant Capacity as a Distinctive Feature for Women with HER2+ Breast Cancer: A Preliminary Study

The overexpression of HER2 in breast cancer (BC) can contribute to redox imbalance, which is related to damage and structural modification in many biomolecules. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that has investigated the infrared spectrum wavenumbers obtained by ATR-FTIR and their relationship with the levels of redox status markers such as reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), and protein carbonyl among women with HER2+ BC, HER2- BC, and benign breast disease (BBD). The study was conducted with 25 women, 17 of whom were diagnosed with BC (6 HER2+ and 11 HER2-) and 8 with BBD. Our results indicate HER2+ BC cases could be distinguished from HER2- BC and BBD cases by their serum's antioxidant capacity [HER2+ BC vs. HER2- BC (AUC = 0.818; specificity = 81.82%; sensitivity = 66.67%); HER2+ BC vs. BBD (AUC = 0.875; specificity = 75%; sensitivity = 83.33%)]. The changes in biochemical terms that occur in serum as a result of the scarcity of antioxidants are related to a peculiar fingerprint in the infrared spectrum obtained by ATR-FTIR. In the serum of women with BBD, the SOD enzyme level is the highest, and this characteristic allowed us to distinguish them from HER2- BC. Finally, data regarding the serological antioxidant capacity of FRAP and the infrared spectrum by ATR-FTIR will allow us to assess biochemical changes that occur before clinical signs, indicating whether changes in therapy or interventions are necessary.

A Novel Detection Method of Breast Cancer through a Simple Panel of Biomarkers

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been identified as responsible for the spread of tumors to other organs of the body. In this sense, the development of sensitive and specific assays for their detection is important to reduce the number of deaths due to metastases. Here, we assessed whether the detection of CTCs in peripheral blood can serve in the construction of a panel of diagnosis and monitoring treatments of breast cancer (BC), focusing on the expression of markers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Through analyzing the blood from women without breast alterations (control), women with benign alterations, women with breast cancer without chemotherapy, and women with breast cancer with chemotherapy, we identified the best markers by transcriptional levels and determined three profiles of CTCs (mesenchymal, intermediate, and epithelial) by flow cytometry which, combined, can be used for diagnosis and therapy monitoring with sensitivity and specificity between 80% and 100%. Therefore, we have developed a method for detecting breast cancer based on the analysis of CTC profiles by epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers which, combined, can be used for the diagnosis and monitoring of therapy.