Serum sialyl lewis X-i antigen levels in non-small cell lung cancer: correlation with distant metastasis and survival

• Published in: Clinical cancer research Vol. 3; no. 4; pp. 495 - 499
• Main Authors: SATOH, H, ISHIKAWA, H, KAMMA, H, YAMASHITA, Y. T, TAKAHASHI, H, OHTSUKA, M, HASEGAWA, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia, PA American Association for Cancer Research 01.04.1997
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers, Tumor - blood; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - blood; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - mortality; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - pathology; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - therapy; Female; Humans; Lewis Blood-Group System - blood; Lung Neoplasms - blood; Lung Neoplasms - mortality; Lung Neoplasms - pathology; Lung Neoplasms - therapy; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasm Staging; Oligosaccharides - blood; Pneumology; Survival Analysis; Time Factors; Tumors of the respiratory system and mediastinum; Adenocarcinoma; Human; Lung disease; Carbohydrate antigen; Sialic acid; Statistical analysis; Tumor associated antigen; Respiratory disease; Biological marker; Tumoral marker; Malignant tumor; Metastasis; Bronchopulmonary; Blood plasma; Clinical stage; Bronchus disease; Diagnosis; Non small cell carcinoma
• ISSN: 1078-0432; 1557-3265

To evaluate the correlation between serum levels of sialyl Lewis X-i antigen and distant metastasis and survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we measured the serum levels of the tumor marker in 371 patients with untreated NSCLC. The sialyl Lewis X-i antigen level was measured using a RIA kit. In patients with adenocarcinoma or other NSCLC subtypes, there was a correlation between serum sialyl Lewis X-i antigen and stage of the disease (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.0015, respectively). Levels of the marker varied significantly depending on the number of metastatic organs in adenocarcinoma (P = 0.0089) and in other NSCLC subtypes (P = 0.002). Univariate analysis showed that survival of NSCLC patients with high (more than 100 units/ml) sialyl Lewis X-i antigen levels was significantly poorer than that of patients with low antigen levels (P = 0.0001). Multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional hazard model showed that high sialyl Lewis X-i antigen levels correlated significantly with poor survival (P = 0.004). Our data suggest that a high serum level of sialyl Lewis X-i antigen seems to be an indicator of the presence of metastasis and might indicate the need for a careful investigation of all putative metastatic sites. The serum levels of sialyl Lewis X-i antigen may reflect the extension of metastasis and would be helpful in considering treatment options.