Value of diagnosis and prognosis of serum concentration of melatonin in women with breast Cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, responsible for about a third of new diagnoses and the leading cause of death from cancer in women in Brazil and worldwide. An increasing variety of molecular markers have been identified, and can be used in conjunction with the morphological and histological markers to more accurate assessment of the diagnosis and prognosis of cancer patients, and aid in developing of more effective treatments. It is suggested that melatonin, the main hormone synthesized in the pineal gland, is a potential biomarker in breast cancer. Melatonin plays an important role in the regulation of endocrine phenomena independent of the hypothalamic- pituitary- gonadal axis and, recently studies have shown that this hormone has oncostatic effects in several types of cancer, especially in breast cancer. It is believed that different melatonin concentrations can be related to tumor development and prognosis of cancer patients. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate serum concentrations of melatonin by mass spectrometry in patients with breast cancer and healthy women (controls), correlating with clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer patients. Quantification of serum melatonin can become an important tool in aiding the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with breast cancer.