title: Identification of endothelial cell-specific molecule-1 as a potential serum marker for colorectal cancer.
abstract: No ideal serum markers for screening colorectal cancer (CRC) have been identified. The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of endothelial cell-specific molecule-1 (ESM-1) as a serum marker for CRC. Illumina microarray was carried out to search CRC-related biomarkers. cDNA microarray detected that ESM-1 was one of the overexpressed genes in CRC. Overexpression of ESM-1 mRNA was confirmed in tissues of CRC by RT-PCR and real-time PCR. Immunohistochemical staining showed strong expression of ESM-1 in the cytoplasm of tumor cells. Overexpression of ESM-1 in human serum with CRC was found by Western blot analysis. For quantitative analysis of ESM-1 in serum, we determined the ESM-1 levels in serum specimens using an ELISA kit. We showed that the ESM-1 levels in the serum of patients with CRC were significantly elevated (70.1 ± 29.7 pg/mL) compared to healthy subjects (29.7 ± 14.9 pg/mL). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of ESM-1 for CRC were 0.94, 99%, and 73%, respectively, by receiver operating characteristics curve analysis. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 63% and 95%, respectively. The likelihood ratios of a positive or negative test result were 73 and 0.27, respectively. When analyzed with a Cox regression model, a higher serum ESM-1 level (≥76.0 pg/mL) was correlated with poor prognosis. This study suggests that expression of ESM-1 is increased in tissue and serum of CRC patients and that ESM-1 can be used as a potential serum marker for the early detection of CRC.
authors.affiliation: Medical Genomics Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Na Young
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Young-Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ye Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Yun Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Chung Il
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jae Wha
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young Il
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Yeom
authors.forename: Ho Kyung
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Chun
authors.forename: Yoon-Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Joo Heon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jong Wan
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hee Gu
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eun Young
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000097:blood*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C101134:ESM1 protein, human; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D011509:Proteoglycans