Circulating Phospholipids as Biomarkers of Breast Cancer: A Review

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. The key to surviving breast cancer is early detection and treatment. Current technologies rely heavily on imaging of the breast, and although considered the gold standard, they have their limitations. There is a need for a more accurate screening test for women of all ages, which can detect the cancer at a cellular level and before metastasis. There have been extensive studies into markers for breast cancer including protein and nucleic acid biomarkers, but to date, these have been unsuccessful. A growing field of interest is the association between breast cancer (tissue and cells) and lipids, which is documented in the literature, and may be considered as a leading candidate in the breast cancer detection space.