Galactin-3 and Galactin-16: Proposed Novel Tumor Markers for Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Evaluation of Chemotherapy Efficacy

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is a multifactorial disease with major lifestyle behaviors and genetic components, any factor that increases the likelihood of developing breast cancer is considered a risk factor. These factors may be a disease, a habit, or a substance. These multiple factors combine or come together to account for most cancers, including breast cancer⁽⁶⁰⁾. Therefore, the risk factors could be classified menially to unchangeable and changeable. Subjects and Methods:  Over a period of seven months (from the beginning of October 2023 to the end of April 2024), 45 women were enrolled in the current study. The participants in the current study were divided into three groups based on their health status (women with breast tumors and healthy women), and depending on the type of tumor, the patients were divided into: women with malignant breast tumors and women with benign breast tumors. The first patients group consisted of 15 females with malignant breast tumors who participated in the work before starting chemotherapy and were followed up during receiving 3 consecutive doses of chemotherapy. The second patients group consisted of 15 females with benign tumors (enrolled as a pathological control group), while the  healthy control group consisted of 15 females, their age ranged from 22 to 45 years. Sandwich enzyme linked immune sorbent assay (Sandwich ELISA) method was applied to evaluate C-Type Lectin Domain Family 8, member A (CLEC8A)and P-Selectin concentrations in the sera samples of the study individuals. Results: The present work aims to study the effect of body massindex (BMI) on the occurrence of carcinogenesis. The result of the present work shows that there are no statistically significant differences in BMI in patients with different breast tumors when comparing the two groups together (p=0.090), as well as when comparing the group of patients with malignant tumors with the healthy control group (p=0.081), or when comparing the group of females with benign breast tumors with the healthy control group, the difference (p=0.957). Galectin-3 levels were measured in the sera samples of the study groups, and the results showed a significant elevation (p=0.000) in Galectin-3 in the malignant tumor group compared to the benign tumor as well as the health control group (p=0.000).On the other hand, the results of the present study did not record variations in Galectin-3 concentration in benign breast tumors and healthy groups (p=0.690). The results showed a clear decrease in Galectin-3 concentrations in the cancer patients' group after receiving consecutively three doses of chemotherapy compared to their levels in the pre-treatment period. The results of the study indicate a decrease in Galectin-3 levels after receiving the last doses of the course determined by the specialist physician compared to the levels of this lectin before starting chemotherapy, although the change was not statistically significant. In addition, the levels of Galectin-3 after receiving the last doses of treatment in the course designed by the specialist physician were not within the levels in the control groups, whether the disease or the healthy. The results showed significant statistical differences when comparing galactin-16 levels in the group of patients with malignant breast tumors compared to the group of patients with benign breast tumors (p=0.000) or healthy women in the control group (p=0.000). On the other hand, the results of the current study did not show statistical differences in galactin-16 concentration when comparing benign breast tumor patients with healthy women (p=0.467). Galectin-16 levels were monitored during three consecutive chemotherapy doses. The study showed a clear decrease in Galectin-16 concentration after receiving the first dose of chemotherapy, and its level quickly rose to double its pre-treatment level after receiving the second dose of chemotherapy. After receiving the third dose, Galectin-16 levels decreased again to their levels before receiving the first dose of chemotherapy. The study proved that there were no significant differences when comparing Galectin-16 levels before receiving treatment and after the last dose of the treatment course prescribed by the specialist physician. According to the data, a positive correlation (r=0.938 at p<0.001) was observed when testing the relationship between galactin-3 and galactin-16 in breast cancer patients. The relationships between galactin-3 and galactin-16 were positive but not significant in the groups of benign breast tumors and healthy individuals. The calculation of sensitivity and specificity is used for assessing the efficiency of the tested parameters to suggest them as diagnostic markers. The diagnostic efficiency of the included criteria in this work were evaluated by applying the receiver operating characteristic (ROC). The results showed the area under the curve and the cut-off value for the criteria evaluated in the current study. The individual efficiency (sensitivity) of the criteria evaluated in the current study for distinguishing between cancerous and benign breast tumors reached the highest level (100%),  while the lowest specificity (63%) was noted for Galectin-3. The combined sensitivity of Galectin-3 and Galectin-16 were examined in the breast tumor, these criteria showed a similar maximum sensitivity for each parameters (100%). When calculating the value of the combined specificity, the study indicated that the percentage of specificity reached 93% when evaluating both lectins together. Conclusion: the results of the work indicate the possibility of employing these criteria in evaluating the response of cancer patients to chemotherapy. Therefore, the current study provides excellent tools for diagnosing breast cancer and following up the recovery phase, which helps the specialist physician in designing the treatment strategy provided and evaluating the level of recovery.