Increasing evidence has demonstrated that changes in plasma
nuclear matrix proteins are specific markers of
cancer. Furthermore, proteomic analysis has revealed that calponin-h2 is upregulated in human
breast cancer tissue, but is absent in healthy and benign controls. However, the roles of levels of plasma calponin-h2 in the diagnosis of
breast cancer and its association with clinicopathological parameters remain to be elucidated. In the present study, the plasma levels of calponin-h2 in patients with
breast cancer, benign
breast disease and in healthy controls were examined using an
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay. The expression levels of calponin-h2 in invasive
breast cancer and normal breast tissues were measured using immunohistochemistry. Statistical analyses examined the association between the levels of plasma calponin-h2 and clinicopathological parameters. The results demonstrated that the plasma level of calponin-h2 in
breast cancer was significantly higher than those in the healthy control and benign
breast disease groups (P<0.05). The combination of calponin-h2,
carcinoembryonic antigen,
carbohydrate antigen 15-3 improved the diagnosis of
breast cancer. The plasma levels of calponin-h2 PR-breast
cancers was significantly higher, compared with PR+ breast
cancers (P=0.033), and the plasma levels of calponin-h2 in patients with
breast cancer aged >50 years was significantly higher than in patients ≤ 50 years of age (P=0.001). No association was found between the level of plasma calponin-h2 and other clinicopathological parameters of
breast cancer. Taken together, these results indicated that calponin-h2 may be a useful marker of
breast cancer.