CEA, CA 15-3, and TPS as Prognostic Factors in the Follow-up Monitoring of Patients After Radical Surgery for Breast Cancer.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of tissue polypeptide-specific antigen (TPS), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) to predict relapse in breast cancer patients, when the measurement of biomarkers is performed within 6 months after surgery. Patients and Methods: Four hundred and seventy-two patients with breast cancer were evaluated. TPS, CEA, and CA 15-3 were measured in months 1, 3, and 6, after surgery. Disease recurrence was recorded between 712 months after surgery. Disease recurrence occurred in 60 patients, while 412 patients remained in recurrence-free status. Results: TPS levels of the recurrence group differed statistically significantly in the first and sixth month after surgery compared to recurrence-free group (p=0.0339, AUC=0.6056; p<0.0001, AUC=0.7196). CEA and CA 15-3 measurements did not achieve a statistically significant difference for any month examined. Conclusion: TPS level in the sixth month after surgery is the best candidate biomarker to predict disease recurrence.