title: Comparison between serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen, sialic acid and phosphohexose isomerase in lung cancer.
abstract: The identification and application of quantifiable tumor markers as adjuncts to clinical care is a story of both success and failure. The present study compared serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) with total sialic acid/total protein (TSA/TP) ratio and phosphohexose isomerase (PHI) in 192 untreated lung cancer patients as well as 80 age and sex matched controls (44 non-smokers and 36 smokers). CEA values were significantly raised (p < 0.001) in smokers as compared to the non-smokers; whereas, TSA/TP and PHI values were comparable between the two groups of the controls. All the biomarkers were significantly elevated (p < 0.001) in untreated lung cancer patients as compared to the controls. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed higher sensitivities of TSA/TP and PHI as compared to CEA at different specificity levels between 60% and 95%. Mean values of CEA, TSA/TP and PHI were higher in non-responders compared to the responders. The results indicate that TSA/TP and PHI are superior tumor markers than CEA for lung cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology, Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Asarwa, Ahmedabad, India.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Raval
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Rawal
authors.forename: G H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Balar
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Patel
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005956:Glucose-6-Phosphate Isomerase / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000097:blood*; D012907:Smoking / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D012794:Sialic Acids; D005956:Glucose-6-Phosphate Isomerase; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid