Serum TRACP5b detection and its significance in breast cancer with negative axillary lymph nodes

Objective To study the value of serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP5b) in bone metastasis in early breast cancer patients with negative axillary lymph nodes.Methods The serum level of TRACP5b was determined by enzyme-linked immumosorbent assay (ELISA) in 26 breast cancer patients and 18 healthy female adults.Results The serum level of TRACP5b was (3.85 ± 0.85) U/L in the group of breast cancer patients and (2.08 ± 0.84) U/L in the control group.The difference had statistical significance (P ＜0.05 ).The sensitivity was 42.31％ and the specificity was 94.44％ for TRACP5 b in predicting bone metastasis of breast cancer with negtive axillary lymph nodes.Conclusions TRACP5b has higher sensitivity and specificity in breast cancer patients than in healthy female adults.TRACP5b is a useful serum marker to predict bone metastasis in breast cancer patients. Key words: TRACP5b;  Breast cancer;  Bone metastasis