New potential biomarkers in the diagnosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To analyse the alterations of serum proteins in cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in order to screen and validate serum marker patterns for the diagnosis of ESCC in the high-risk populations of Xinjiang, China.


METHODS
The serum proteomic patterns of 188 cases, including 139 patients with ESCC (54 Uygur, 45 Kazakh and 40 Han subjects) and 49 sex- and age-matched healthy controls, were detected using the SELDI-TOF-MS (surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry) technology with the CM10 ProteinChip. Differences in protein peaks between patients with ESCC and controls were analysed using the Biomarker Pattern Software, and a primary diagnosis model of ESCC was developed and validated with SVM (support vector machines). This model was further evaluated by a large-scale blind test.


RESULTS
Two hundred and eighty-three protein peaks were detected within the molecular range of 0-20 kDa, among which, 140 peaks were significantly different between ESCC cases and controls (p < 0.05). A diagnostic pattern consisting of six protein peaks (m/z 5667, 5709, 5876, 5979, 6043 and 6102) was established with a sensitivity of 97.12% and a specificity of 83.87%. The large-scale blind test generated a sensitivity of 91.43% and a specificity of 88.89%.


CONCLUSIONS
The differential protein peaks analysed by SELDI-TOF-MS may contain promising serum biomarkers for screening ESCC. The diagnostic model which combined only six protein peaks had a satisfactory discriminatory power. The model should be further evaluated in other populations of ESCC patients and tested against controls. The nature and function of the discriminating proteins have yet to be elucidated.
Xu
Shu-Yong
SY
Medical Research Center, 1st Teaching Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.
Liu
Zan
Z
Ma
Wen-Jing
WJ
Sheyhidin
Ilyar
I
Zheng
Shu-Tao
ST
Lu
Xiao-Mei
XM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D040901:Proteomics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor