末梢神经系统（PNS）损伤是乳腺癌（BC）治疗的常见并发症，60％至80％的乳腺癌幸存者会出现PNS损伤症状。本研究通过ELISA测量脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）、半乳糖凝集素-3（Gal-3）和神经营养因子-3（NT-3）的血清水平，作为可能指示PNS损伤的潜在生物标志物。该多中心试验招募了67名患者，与年龄相当的健康女性志愿者（对照组）（n = 25）进行比较。生物标志物水平的组间比较（即Gal-3和BDNF）未显示任何研究子组中的显着差异。然而，有趣的是，与健康志愿者相比，BC患者的NT-3水平显著较高，分别为14.85 [10.3；18.0]和5.74 [4.56；13.7] pg/mL（p <0.001）。总之，NT-3可能作为BC患者临床表现出PNS损伤的潜在生物标志物。然而，进一步研究以验证其与周围神经系统损伤程度的相关性具有很高的价值。

Damage to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is a common complication of breast cancer (BC) treatment, with 60 to 80% of breast cancer survivors experiencing symptoms of PNS damage. In the current study, the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), galectin-3 (Gal-3), and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) were measured in the blood serum of BC patients by ELISA as potential biomarkers that might indicate the PNS damage. Sixty-seven patients were enrolled in this multi-center trial and compared to the aged-matched healthy female volunteers (control group) (n = 25). Intergroup comparison of biomarker levels (i.e., Gal-3 and BDNF) did not show significant differences in any of the studied subgroups. However, intriguingly, NT-3 levels were significantly higher in BC patients as compared to healthy volunteers, constituting 14.85 [10.3; 18.0] and 5.74 [4.56; 13.7] pg/mL, respectively (p < 0.001). In conclusion, NT-3 might be employed as a potential biomarker in BC patients with clinical manifestations of PNS damage. However, further studies to validate its correlation to the degree of peripheral nervous system lesions are of high value.