Exploring The Clinical Significance Of Serum Angiopoietin-2 In Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and accounts for 25% of all cancers worldwide. It is the fifth leading cause of cancer death in women. The incidence of breast cancer has increased steadily over the past few decades, but breast cancer mortality appears to be declining. This suggests a benefit from early detection and more effective treatment. In Egypt, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer as it accounts for approximately 32 % of reported malignancies among Egyptian women. Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with no single characterized cause. However, epidemiological studies have identified many risk factors that increase the chance for a woman to develop breast cancer. In cancer, vascular destabilization and angiogenesis enhance tumor growth, metastatic potential, and correlate with poor patient outcome. Angiopoietin-2, is activated by hypoxia, and induces vessel destabilization upon Tie2 receptor binding which induce angiogenesis. Current evidence suggests that angiopiotin-2 level is altered in different types of cancers including breast cancer. Angiopiotin-2 alterations have been shown to play critical roles in breast cancer. In this regard, our study aimed to explore the diagnostic significance of serum angiopoietin-2 in breast cancer and to evaluate its prognostic efficacy through studying the degree of its association with the TNM staging of the disease.