title: Identification of patients with head and neck cancer using serum protein profiles.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  New and more consistent biomarkers of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are needed to improve early detection of disease and to monitor successful patient management.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine if a new proteomic technology can correctly identify protein expression profiles for cancer in patient serum samples as well as detect the presence of a known tumor marker.
  
  
  METHODS
  Direct proteomic analysis and comparison.
  
  
  METHODS
  The surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF) ProteinChip system was used to screen for differentially expressed proteins in serum samples from 99 patients with HNSCC, 25 "healthy" smokers, and 102 healthy (normal) controls. Protein peak clustering and classification analyses of the SELDI spectral data were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Several proteins, with masses ranging from 2778 to 20,800 Da, were differentially expressed between patients with HNSCC and the normal controls. The serum protein expression profiles were used to develop a classification tree algorithm, which achieved a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 90% in discriminating HNSCC from normal and healthy smoker controls. The positive and negative predictive values were 80% and 92%, respectively. A peak with an average mass of 10,068 Da was detected in sera from HNSCC patients and identified as the known biomarker metallopanstimulin-1 (MPS-1), based on mass. Peak relative intensity of the 10,068-Da protein correlated consistently with MPS-1 levels detected by radioimmunoassay in serum samples of HNSCC patients and controls. The 10,068-Da peak was provisionally identified as MPS-1 by SELDI immunoassay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We propose that this technique may allow for the development of a reliable screening test for the early detection and diagnosis of HNSCC, as well as the potential identification of tumor biomarkers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk 23507, USA. wadswojt@evms.edu
authors.forename: J Trad
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Wadsworth
authors.forename: Kenneth D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Somers
authors.forename: Brendan C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Stack
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cazares
authors.forename: Gunjan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Bao-Ling
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Adam
authors.forename: George L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: O John
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Semmes
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008667:Metalloproteins / Q000097:blood; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000097:blood; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D012269:Ribosomal Proteins; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D001798:Blood Proteins; D008667:Metalloproteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C083686:RPS27 protein, human; D012269:Ribosomal Proteins