Serum pleiotrophin as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Pleiotrophin (PTN) is involved in tumour progression, angiogenesis and metastasis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression level of PTN in the serum of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and to explore the clinical significance of PTN. Serum samples from 128 patients with SCLC, 120 healthy volunteers (HV) and 60 patients with benign lung disease (BLD) were collected. The levels of serum PTN were determined with ELISA and its correlation with the clinical data was examined. The serum PTN levels in SCLC patients were significantly higher than that in BLD patients ( P < 0.05) or HV ( P < 0.05). With a cutoff value of 258.18 ng/mL, the sensitivity and specificity of PTN to SCLC patients and BLD patients, SCLC patients and HV were 79.2% and 91.7%, 86.7% and 95.8% respectively. An area under the curve for all stages of SCLC resulting from PTN, which was significantly better than the other tumour markers tested including progastrin‐releasing peptide and neuron‐specific enolase. High serum PTN levels appear to correlate with poor survival in patients with SCLC. These results suggest that PTN levels in the serum could be a new effective biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of SCLC.

Discovery of PTN as a serum-based biomarker of pro-metastatic prostate cancer

“… 19 , 20 Moreover, high levels of PTN were detected in the serum of patients with multiple cancer types, including breast cancer, lung cancer, myeloma and testicular cancer. 21 – 25 High levels of serum PTN also correlate with poor survival in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and serve as a valuable diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for SCLC. 21 A meta-analysis identified PTN as a promising biomarker for the prediction of unfavourable outcomes in cancer.…”

“… 21 – 25 High levels of serum PTN also correlate with poor survival in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and serve as a valuable diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for SCLC. 21 A meta-analysis identified PTN as a promising biomarker for the prediction of unfavourable outcomes in cancer. 26 In this context and to the best of our knowledge, PTN might be the first serum-based biomarker of “pro-metastatic” PC.…”

The Role of Autophagy at the Nano/Bio Interface - Underlying Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential in Cancer

“…Furthermore, conjugating autophagy inducers can achieve manipulation of autophagy to nanoparticles, such as linking a Beclin 1 peptide (NH2-CGTNVFNATFHIWHSGQFGT-COOH) to the backbone of the polymer. The polymeric nanoparticles that upregulate autophagy in DCs thus leading to a high-efficiency antigen presentation of OVA and OVA-specific T cells activation [69].…”

Prognostic significance of serum osteopontin levels in small cell lung cancer

“…Lung cancer is one of the most common tumors in the world. According to the pathological type, it is divided into non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), of which SCLC accounts for 13% of the total number of cases [1,2]. Although SCLC is sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, most of them are diagnosed at an advanced stage with a poor prognosis [3].…”