title: High serum YKL-40 level in patients with small cell lung cancer is related to early death.
abstract: YKL-40, a growth factor for connective tissue cells, is secreted by cancer cells and macrophages. Elevated serum YKL-40 in patients with metastatic carcinoma has been associated with poor prognosis. We evaluated serum YKL-40 in 131 patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Twenty-two percent of the patients with limited disease and 40% of the patients with extensive disease had elevated serum YKL-40. The median survival was 5.1 months for patients with elevated serum YKL-40 and 9.0 months for patients with normal serum YKL-40. Patients with elevated serum YKL-40 had increased hazard for death within the first 6 months after the start of chemotherapy compared to patients with normal serum YKL-40 (HR = 2.06, P = 0.009). Multivariate Cox analysis including routine prognostic variables showed that serum YKL-40 (P = 0.02) is independent of prognostic variables for survival within the first 6 months. Studies are needed to determine the function of YKL-40 in SCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology Q, Herlev Hospital, Herlev Ringvej 75, Herlev DK-2730, Denmark. julia.johansen@post3.tele.dk
authors.forename: Julia S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Johansen
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Drivsholm
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Ib Jarle
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D054392:Adipokines; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001324:Autoantigens; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D000071451:Chitinase-3-Like Protein 1; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D054392:Adipokines; D001324:Autoantigens; C084533:CHI3L1 protein, human; D000071451:Chitinase-3-Like Protein 1; D006023:Glycoproteins; D037102:Lectins