title: Could exhaled ferritin and SOD be used as markers for lung cancer and prognosis prediction purposes?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Today an increasing interest is being generated by the study of lung cancer markers in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC), precisely because this sample seems to lend itself to lung cancer early screening and follow-up. Indeed, ferritin and superoxide dismutase (SOD) have recently been recognized to play a role in lung cancerogenesis and patients' survival. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value and the prognostic power of exhaled ferritin and exhaled SOD in patients with lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 15 controls were enrolled in the study. All subjects under study underwent EBC collection and analysis of ferritin and SOD. A total of 36 patients were either given a follow-up of at least 25.5 months or followed up until death.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exhaled ferritin and SOD resulted as being higher in NSCLC than in controls and as being influenced by the stage of cancer. A pronounced survival difference was found in the presence of exhaled ferritin 300 ng/mL and exhaled SOD > 13.5 U/μL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, although the results need to be confirmed on a larger and homogeneous population, we hypothesized that the notion of using the measurement of ferritin and SOD in the EBC could, if deemed feasible, have clinical implications in the monitoring of lung cancer and as an outcome predictor.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Respiratory Disease, Department of Medical and Occupational Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy. ge.carpagnano@unifg.it
authors.forename: Giovanna E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Carpagnano
authors.forename: Donato
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lacedonia
authors.forename: Grazia P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Palladino
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Koutelou
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Martinelli
authors.forename: Silvio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Orlando
authors.forename: Maria P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Foschino-Barbaro
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D001944:Breath Tests / Q000379:methods; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D045853:Exhalation; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism*; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D005293:Ferritins; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase