فهرست نشریات علمی دسترسی آزاد ایران

Background and Objectives: Breast cancer patients in Saudi Arabia present with earlier onset, advanced-stage, and aggressive subtypes, highlighting the need for targeted biomarker research. The antigen TAG-72 has shown inconsistent prognostic associations in Middle Eastern populations. This study analyzed TAG-72 expression in breast cancer tissues from a large Saudi cohort to assess its clinicopathological associations and prognostic significance.    Methods: We analyzed 577 breast cancer specimens from King Abdulaziz University Hospital (1996–2012) using clinicopathological variables from medical records. Tissue microarrays were created with validated cores, and TAG-72 expression was assessed via immunohistochemistry (Cell Marque antibody, 1:100 dilution) with standardized scoring (≥5% staining). Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, logistic regression, and Cox models to evaluate TAG-72’s associations.    Results: Among 577 breast cancer patients (mean age 50.7 ±13.3 years), 86% exhibited no TAG-72 expression, while 14% demonstrated low to high staining. Elevated TAG-72 levels were significantly associated with positive HER2 status (OR (95% CI):1.92 (1.07, 3.45), P=0.028) and non-ductal histology (OR (95% CI): 2.03 (1.01, 4.08), P=0.046). In survival analysis, HER2 positivity (HR (95% CI): 2.30 (1.16, 4.57), P = 0.018), non-ductal subtypes (HR (95% CI): 2.17 (1.06, 4.46), P=0.035), and distant metastasis (HR (95% CI): 4.42 (2.51, 7.78), P<0.001) independently predicted higher mortality risk, while TAG-72 expression showed no significant prognostic association (P=0.190).    Conclusion: TAG-72's clinical utility is limited, showing no significant association with death or most breast cancer parameters, except HER2. This suggests that TAG-72 interpretation in immunohistochemistry for breast cancer should consider HER2's clinical significance in patient management.