For the best experience on the Abcam website please upgrade to a modern browser such as Google Chrome

Hello. We're improving abcam.com and we'd welcome your feedback.

Hello. We're improving abcam.com and we'd welcome your feedback.

Infomation icon

We haven't added this to the BETA yet

New BETA website

New BETA website

Hello. We're improving abcam.com and we'd welcome your feedback.

Take a look at our BETA site and see what we’ve done so far.

Switch on our new BETA site

Now available

Search and browse selected products

  • A selection of primary antibodies

Purchase these through your usual distributor

In the coming months

  • Additional product types
  • Supporting content
  • Sign in to your account
  • Purchase online
United States
Your country/region is currently set to:

If incorrect, please enter your country/region into the box below, to view site information related to your country/region.

Call (888) 77-ABCAM (22226) or contact us
Need help? Contact us

  • My account
  • Sign out
Sign in or Register with us

Welcome

Sign in or

Don't have an account?

Register with us
My basket
Quick order
Abcam homepage

  • Research Products
    By product type
    Primary antibodies
    Secondary antibodies
    ELISA and Matched Antibody Pair Kits
    Cell and tissue imaging tools
    Cellular and biochemical assays
    By product type
    Proteins and Peptides
    Proteomics tools
    Agonists, activators, antagonists and inhibitors
    Cell lines and Lysates
    Multiplex Assays
    By research area
    Cancer
    Cardiovascular
    Cell Biology
    Epigenetics
    Metabolism
    Developmental Biology
    By research area
    Immunology
    Microbiology
    Neuroscience
    Signal Transduction
    Stem Cells
  • Customized Products & Partnerships
    Customized Products & Partnerships

    Customized products and commercial partnerships to accelerate your diagnostic and therapeutic programs.

    Customized products

    Partner with us

  • Support
    Support hub

    Access advice and support for any research roadblock

    View support hub

    Protocols

    Your experiments laid out step by step

    View protocols

  • Events
    • Conference calendar
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascular
    • Epigenetics & Nuclear signaling
    • Immunology
    • Neuroscience
    • Stem cells
    • Tradeshows
    • Scientific webinars
    Keep up to date with the latest events

    Full event breakdown with abstracts, speakers, registration and more

    View global event calendar

  • Pathways
    Cell signalling pathways

    View all pathways

    View all interactive pathways

Breast cancer biomarkers

Related

  • Cancer biomarker guide
    • Metastasis antibody comparison
      • Biomarker antibody validation
        • Studying the hallmarks of cancer

          Find the right cancer biomarker for your research using our cancer immunohistochemistry (IHC) guide to breast cancer.

          Download the complete Cancer biomarkers guide here.

          Updated July 6, 2023

          IHC is a common method used in the diagnosis of breast cancer and research into breast cancer pathology. These markers are used to determine different breast cancer types, e.g. in situ or invasive carcinoma, distinguishing normal breast cell types, e.g., luminal, basal and myoepithelial, and also proliferation and disease progression3. 

          Here we look at some of the most common primary IHC markers for breast cancer and some cell type-specific biomarkers. We also recommend specific IHC antibodies for each biomarker. 

          Overview

          • Emerging breast cancer biomarkers
          • Established IHC breast cancer biomarkers
          • Cell-type-specific biomarkers
          • Cancer biomarker guide homepage

          Emerging breast cancer biomarkers

          ALDH1A1 

          SLFN11 

          Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A1 (ALDH1A1) has been identified as a putative cancer stem cell (CSC) marker in breast cancer1. 

          Schlafen 11 (SLFN11) is emerging as an important regulator of cellular response to DNA damage. Preclinical and emerging clinical trial data suggest that SLFN11 is a predictive biomarker of response to a wide range of therapeutics that cause DNA damage, raising exciting possibilities for its clinical application2. 

          View antibodies to ALDH1A1

          View antibodies to SLFN11

          Established breast cancer biomarkers

          Estrogen receptor alpha

          Determining the distribution of estrogen receptor alpha (ER-α) in breast cancer samples is an important initial step for the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of the disease4. Approximately 70% of breast cancer samples will give a positive staining signal for ER-α making it a crucial biomarker for breast cancer diagnosis5. ER-α is a nuclear protein with a ligand-dependent transcription factor function. It is also most commonly detected in both luminal A and B subtypes of breast cancer5. 


          Figure: Immunohistochemical staining of paraffin-embedded human breast carcinoma tissue with ab32063 at a dilution of 1/5000. The secondary antibody used was Goat Anti-Rabbit IgG H&L (HRP Polymer). The sample is counter-stained with hematoxylin. Antigen retrieval was heat mediated using ab93684 (Tris/EDTA buffer, pH 9.0). 

          IHC stain (marker localization): Nuclear stain
          Recommended IHC antibody: Recombinant Anti-Estrogen Receptor alpha antibody [E115] - ChIP Grade (ab32063)

          View antibodies to estrogen receptor alpha 


          Progesterone receptor

          The progesterone receptor (PR) is another biomarker important for the initial diagnosis and evaluation of breast cancer4. PR is known to be induced by ER-α and plays a key role in ER-α protein regulation. PGR as a biomarker is therefore commonly used as an indicator of ER-α function6. PR is highly expressed in luminal A-type breast cancer tissue and is associated with a good prognosis7.