@article {11435, title = {Differential expression of cancer-related proteins in paired breast milk samples from women with breast cancer.}, journal = {Journal of human lactation : official journal of International Lactation Consultant Association}, volume = {28}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Nov}, pages = {543-6}, abstract = {Background: Breast cancer risk increases during pregnancy and remains elevated for a number of years thereafter. Cancer-associated proteins that are secreted into breast milk may provide a means to detect cancer in the lactating breast or to assess future breast cancer risk. Objective: To determine whether proteins linked to breast cancer would be differentially expressed in matched (both breasts from each participant) human milk samples collected from women with unilateral breast cancer. Methods: Five cancer-associated proteins (basic fibroblast growth factor [bFGF], YKL-40, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, and transforming growth factor β1 and β2) were analyzed in milk provided by 5 lactating women, 4 of whom were known to have cancer in 1 breast (and the opposite breast clinically disease free) at the time of milk collection and 1 who developed breast cancer 2 years after milk collection. Results: Expression was significantly higher for TGFβ2 (P = .03) and bFGF (P =.03) in the breasts with cancer. Conclusion: These proteins may play a role in assessing a woman{\textquoteright}s risk of pregnancy-associated breast cancer. Because of variable protein concentration among patients and the limited sample size, the results are considered preliminary.}, author = {Arcaro, Kathleen F and Browne, Eva P and Qin, Wenyi and Zhang, Ke and Anderton, Douglas L and Sauter, Edward R} }