The present study was aimed to investigate the differences of serum proteins in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients with and without lymphatic metastasis for identification of serum biomarkers for TNBC lymphatic metastasis. Thirty pairs of serum samples from TNBC patients with and without lymphatic metastasis were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Differentially expressed

more »

... eins were screened using PDQuest™ software and identified by using Mascot software search engine. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis profiles were obtained. A total of 14 differentially expressed protein spots were found in the sera of two study groups. Among them, 10 were identified by mass spectrometry. By combing database searching and literature review, it is speculated that the upregulated protein transthyretin and clusterin may be the candidate biomarkers for early diagnosis of lymphatic metastasis of TNBC patients. Thus, the 14 differentially expressed proteins, especially transthyretin and clusterin, might provide useful information to early serologic diagnosis and differential diagnosis of lymphatic metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer.