Comparative Analysis of Insulin-like Growth Factor I and Tumour-associated Antigens in Cancer Patients at the Time of Diagnosis

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a polypeptide hormone with structure similar to insulin. Many experimental data support the suggestion that risk of cancer is higher among persons with raised concentration of IGF-1 and some studies support the role of IGF-1 as a biomarker of increased risk of development of colorectal (CRC) and breast cancer (BC). We have determined IGF-1, CA19-9, CEA, CA72-4 for colorectal, CA15-3 and CEA for breast cancer to clarify utility of IGF-1 as a biomarker of cancer presence at the time of diagnosis. In total, 42 men and 52 women with CRC and 139 women with BC were examined. The cut-off level for IGF-1 concentration in serum was established from results of apparently healthy 27 men and 130 women. An IGF-1 and tumour-associated antigens were detected by chemiluminescence's method using analyser Immulite 2000 (Siemens). Elevated level of IGF-1 was detected in 42.8% of men and 30.7% of women with colorectal cancer. The highest detection rates for CRC using a two biomarker combination were for men as well as for women (57.1% and 57.6%). IGF-1 showed higher detection rates between women with breast cancer in postmenopause vs. women at premenopausal age (33.6% vs. 27.7%). IGF-1 can be used as an additional biomarker for selected colorectal and breast cancer patient groups.