Clinical significance of serum transforming growth factor-β1 in lung cancer

• Published in: Cancer epidemiology Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 750 - 753
• Main Authors: Hou, Yu-Lei, Chen, Hui, Dong, Zi-He, Xue, Cheng-Jun, Wu, Yan-Feng, Luo, Hai-Xia, Wu, Yong-Chang, Li, Cheng-Hua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Analysis. Health state; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers, Tumor - blood; Case-Control Studies; ELISA; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epidemiology; Female; General aspects; Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Medicine; Humans; Internal Medicine; Lung cancer; Lung Neoplasms - blood; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; ROC Curve; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 - blood; Transforming growth factor β1; Tumors; Lung cancer; Transforming growth factor β1; ELISA; Lung disease; Respiratory disease; Bronchus disease; Serum; Malignant tumor; Enzyme immunoassay; ELISA assay; Cancer
• ISSN: 1877-7821; 1877-783X; 1877-783X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.canep.2013.04.013

Background: Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) plays a critical role in human cancer development. Present study aimed to explore the clinical significance of serum TGF-β1 levels in patients with lung cancer and analyze the relationship between TGF-β1 and existing tumor markers for lung cancer. Methods: Serum was collected from 118 patients with lung cancer and 40 healthy volunteers. Serum TGF-β1 levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the association with various clinical characteristics was analyzed. The diagnostic value of TGF-β1 was assessed alone and in combination with existing tumor markers for lung cancer. Results: Serum TGF-β1 levels were significantly higher in patients with lung cancer compared to healthy volunteers [0.6×105 (0.4×105, 0.9×105)pg/ml vs 0.5×105 (0.3×105, 0.7×105)pg/ml, P=0.040]. Although there was a positive correlation between serum TGF-β1 levels and advanced stages, the significant difference was not found between early stages and advanced stages (P=0.116). The ability of serum TGF-β1 to discriminate lung cancer at a cutoff value of 79,168pg/ml exhibited sensitivity of 30.6% and specificity of 97.5%. Serum TGF-β1 levels were correlated to cytokeratin fragment 21-1 (CYFRA21-1; R=0.308, P=0.020) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE; R=0.558, P=0.003). The diagnostic accuracy rates for the existing lung-tumor markers, as SCC, CYFRA21-1, and NSE, were increased from 20.0%, 34.6%, and 45.9% to 48.9%, 51.7%, and 54.5%, respectively by the inclusion of serum TGF-β1 levels. Conclusion: Quantification of serum TGF-β1 levels by ELISA may provide a novel complementary tool for the clinical diagnosis of lung cancer.