Dickkopf-1 autoantibody is a novel serological biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer.
OBJECTIVE
We investigated whether or not there are autoantibodies for DKK1 (Dickkopf-1) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and whether this autoantibody can be used for cancer detection.


METHODS
The levels of DKK1 autoantibodies were determined in 93 NSCLC patients and 87 healthy controls.


RESULTS
We found that, in the sera, the presence of autoantibody against DKK1 was highly correlated with NSCLC. High anti-DKK1 autoantibody titres were found in the sera of NSCLC patients, whereas low or negative titres were found in the control group. The ROC curve results showed that autoantibody immunoassay exhibited 62% sensitivity and 84% specificity. The sensitivity for the detection of NSCLC in stage I also reach 64.3%. Furthermore, a combined ELISA assays for both DKK1 and autoantibody DKK1 increased sensitivity and classified 81.7% (76/93) of the NSCLC patients as positive, whereas only 13.8 % (12/87) of healthy volunteers were falsely diagnosed as positive.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that the detection of circulating DKK1 autoantibody could potentially serve as a useful non-invasive marker for determining lung cancer status.
State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai, China.
Xiao
X
Yao
Hua
H
Jiang
Cuizhen
C
Zhang
Huamao
H
Wang
Lin
L
Yang
Yongfeng
Y
Yu
Junming
J
Yu
Bizhi
B
Shi
Zhijun
Z
Shen
Huiping
H
Gao
Zhiwei
Z
Chen
Shujun
S
Tian
Shun
S
Lu
Zonghai
Z
Li
Jianren
J
Gu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D001323:Autoantibodies; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C501126:DKK1 protein, human; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins