Expression of prostate specific membrane antigen in breast cancer patients attending tertiary care hospital – a one year cross sectional study

Abstract

Background and purpose:Breast carcinomas are challenging to treat and are also the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women. Prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is type II transmembrane glycoprotein having a 3 part structure. PSMA is expressed in a variety of normal tissues and its expression is dysregulated in different cancerous tissues. Only a few studies have demonstrated the expression of PSMA in tumor cells in breast carcinoma as well as in cytoplasm of endothelial cells lining tumormicrovessels and the results of the studies done have shown variable outcomes. Till today, the PSMA expression assessment in primary breast cancer has not been explored well. Thus, the aim in this study is to investigate the expression of PSMA in primary breast carcinomas, making it a potential target for specific anti-cancer therapy and will be a helping agent in the treatment of breast cancer and preventive agent in its metastasis. Study design: Cross sectional study