DNA repair capacity measurement as a potential screening procedure for breast cancer

A case-control study in women was undertaken in which 283 breast cancer (BC) incident cases and 479 controls (762 participants) were recruited concurrently during 3 years to study their DNA repair capacity (DRC) using the host cell reactivation assay with a luciferase reporter gene in blood lymphocytes. The DRC method was evaluated as a potential breast cancer biomarker aimed at determining the risk of a woman to 1) develop breast cancer, or 2) be free of breast cancer based on the DRC individual level. Women with BC had a 56% average decrease in DRC as compared to controls (p < 0.001). The 3.67% DRC level, in the scale presented has a potential value as a biomarker, being useful to rule out disease in low prevalence or low risk populations. Two examples on the applicability of the procedure to a human population are presented in terms of its potential for screening of breast cancer: (1) 76.2% sensitivity and 81.2% specificity when comparing all breast cancer types combined with a group of controls (p = 0.0008), and a 92.9% sensitivity and 82.9% specificity when comparing infiltrating ductal carcinoma of the breast with a group of controls (p = 0.0001). The method described should be further evaluated in prospective studies to identify women pre-disposed to BC as an addition to various screening, diagnostic and risk assessment tests for BC.