Serum protein profiles to identify head and neck cancer.
OBJECTIVE
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. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a new proteomic technology could correctly identify protein expression profiles for cancer in patient serum samples.


METHODS
Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry ProteinChip system was used to screen for differentially expressed proteins in serum from 99 patients with HNSCC and 102 normal controls. Protein peak clustering and classification analyses of the surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization spectral data were performed using the Biomarker Wizard and Biomarker Patterns software (version 3.0), respectively (Ciphergen Biosystems, Fremont, CA).


RESULTS
Several proteins, with masses ranging from 2778 to 20800 Da, were differentially expressed between HNSCC and the healthy controls. The serum protein expression profiles were used to develop and train a classification and regression tree algorithm, which reliably achieved a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 100% in discriminating HNSCC from normal controls.


CONCLUSIONS
We propose that this technique has potential for the development of a screening test for the detection of HNSCC.
Wadsworth
J Trad
JT
Departments of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia 23507, USA. wadswojt@evms.edu
Somers
Kenneth D
KD
Cazares
Lisa H
LH
Malik
Gunjan
G
Adam
Bao-Ling
BL
Stack
Brendan C
BC
Wright
George L
GL
Semmes
O John
OJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D040081:Protein Array Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D012016:Reference Values
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D001798:Blood Proteins