Estimation of Serum Calponin-2 in Patients With Breast Carcinoma and Its Clinicopathological Correlation

BACKGROUND: Breast carcinoma represents a major health burden among women in India. Identifying serum biomarkers like calponin-2 could aid in diagnosis, tumor burden assessment, and prognosis. OBJECTIVE: To estimate serum calponin-2 levels in patients with breast carcinoma and evaluate correlations with clinicopathological parameters. PATIENTS AND METHODS: -tests and Pearson/chi-square tests. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 46.1 years, with the highest incidence in the 40-50 age group. Luminal B and HER2-enriched subtypes predominated. A significant postoperative decline in calponin-2 levels (mean reduction: 10.5%) was noted. Preoperative calponin-2 showed significant correlation with tumor size (ρ = 0.306, p = 0.030), T stage (ρ = 0.348, p = 0.015), and node positivity (ρ = 0.315, p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: Serum calponin-2 correlates with tumor aggressiveness and shows promise as a tumor burden biomarker in breast carcinoma. It holds potential for integration into routine diagnostic panels, particularly in resource-limited settings.