Are circulating autoantibodies to ABCC3 transporter a potential biomarker for lung cancer?
OBJECTIVE
The present study was undertaken to test circulating autoantibody to ATP-binding cassette C3 (ABCC3) transporter in order to confirm whether anti-ABCC3 antibody could serve as a biomarker for early diagnosis of lung cancer.


METHODS
This study recruited 275 patients (178 males and 97 females) with non-small cell lung cancer (either squamous carcinoma or adenocarcinoma) and 226 control subjects (134 males and 92 females) well matched in age and smoking history. Anti-ABCC3 IgA and IgG were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) approach that was developed in house with the human leukocyte antigen class II (HLA-II) restricted antigens.


RESULTS
Mann-Whitney U test showed that the IgG antibody level was significantly higher in female patients with adenocarcinoma than female controls (Z = -4.34, P < 0.001) and that the IgA antibody level was significantly higher in male patients with squamous carcinoma than male controls (Z = -3.12, P = 0.002). Pearson's Chi-square (χ(2)) test showed that female patients with adenocarcinoma had a significantly higher positive rate for IgG autoantibody than female controls (χ ( 2 ) = 8.73, P = 0.003). The ELISA sensitivity against a specificity of >95 % was 18.1 % for IgG assay in female patients and 18.0 % for IgA assay in male patients. The inter-assay deviation was 10.6 % for IgG assay and 14.5 % for IgA assay.


CONCLUSIONS
Circulating autoantibodies to ABCC3 transporter may be a potential biomarker that can be added to a panel of existing biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of lung cancer although the gender differences should be taken into account.
Biological Therapy Unit, Second Clinical Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun 130034, China.
Linlin
L
Liu
Nian
N
Liu
Baogang
B
Liu
Yanming
Y
Yang
Qi
Q
Zhang
Weijing
W
Zhang
Pengyue
P
Yu
Yonglong
Y
Jin
Jia
J
Guo
Songlei
S
Guan
Shilong
S
Sun
Lining
L
Miao
Jun
J
Wei
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D000077192:Adenocarcinoma of Lung; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D027425:ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family C Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D021381:Protein Transport
D001323:Autoantibodies; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D027425:ATP-Binding Cassette, Sub-Family C Proteins; C114462:multidrug resistance-associated protein 3