Objective To investigate the clinical value of serum alpha 2HS-glycoprotein (AHSG) antibody in the diagnosis of early breast cancer and prognosis of these patients.

Methods Serum samples were collected from 101 patients with early breast cancer (breast cancer group), 50 patients with benign breast disease (benign disease group) and 50 healthy women (control group). Serum AHSG antibody, carbohydrate antigen 153 (CA153) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels of study objects were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; the serum levels of AHSG antibody, CEA and CA153 in patients with stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ breast cancer were compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of AHSG antibody, CEA and CA153 alone and their combination for early breast cancer.

Results The serum AHSG antibody level in the breast cancer group was significantly higher than that in the benign disease group and control group (P < 0.05). Serum levels of AHSG antibody, CEA and CA153 in stage Ⅱ breast cancer patients were significantly higher than those in the stage Ⅰ (P < 0.05). The area under curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of AHSG antibody were higher than those of CA153 and CEA; the diagnostic indexes of three combined tests were higher than those of single test. The levels of serum AHSG antibody, CEA and CA153 in patients with breast cancer after operation were significantly lower than those before operation (P < 0.05).

Conclusion Serum AHSG antibody is expected to be a biomarker for early diagnosis and prognostic monitoring of breast cancer.