Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study analysed the relationship between serum chemokine CXC ligand 8 (CXCL8) and axillary lymph node metastasis (ALNM) in breast cancer (BC), evaluating its predictive value when combined with tumour markers and ultrasound imaging. METHODS: 121 BC patients and 104 healthy controls were included, and serum CXCL8 was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to compare the differences in the levels of CXCL8 and tumour markers in the two study groups. Pathological examinations revealed that 36 of the patients had ALNM. To further evaluate the diagnostic value, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was employed to analyse the ability of CXCL8, tumour marker and combined colour Doppler ultrasound blood flow richness grade (Adler grade) to assess ALNM in BC patients. RESULTS: Serum CXCL8 carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen (CA) 153, and CA27.29 were higher in BC patients than in controls (P< 0.05). Patients with ALNM had higher levels of CXCL8, CEA, CA153, and CA27.29 (P< 0.05). The combined model (CXCL8 + tumour markers + Adler grade) achieved an AUC of 0.903 (95% CI: 0 .8 5 0 -0 .9 5 7 ), with 86.11% sensitivity and 82.35% specificity (P< 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: High expression of CXCL8 is closely associated with BC ALNM.