A comparison of the circulating endocan levels between the inflammatory and malignant diseases of the same organ: The breast

Purpose Idiopathic granulomatous mastitis (IGM) is a benign inflammatory breast disease that can clinically mimic breast carcinoma (BC). The aim of this study was to compare the endocan levels between inflammatory and neoplastic diseases of the breast, and to determine whether endocan is a convenient diagnostic biomarker for early stage BC and for the differentiation from IGM. Material and methods A total of 65 patients, consisting of 35 newly diagnosed with BC and 30 with IGM proven by core biopsies, and 20 healthy volunteer women with similar demographic characteristics were enrolled in the study. Endocan was assayed by a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Results The endocan level was found to be significantly higher in the BC group than in the control group (p = 0.003). Although the endocan level was higher in the IGM group compared to the control group, there was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.057). No significant distinctive difference was observed between the BC and IGM groups in terms of the endocan level (p = 0.373). The serum endocan level was found to be positively correlated with BMI and vitamin D levels in the BC group (p = 0.043 andp = 0.023, respectively). Conclusions We demonstrated that the serum endocan level was increased in patients with BC compared to healthy subjects, whereas in our enrolled study patient population, endocan was not a statistically valid biomarker for the differential diagnosis between BC and IGM. These findings indicate the potential role of endocan in the pathogenesis of BC.