title: Potential tumor markers of renal cell carcinoma: α-enolase for postoperative follow up, and galectin-1 and galectin-3 for primary detection.
abstract: The diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma is currently based on imaging techniques, mainly because there is no blood marker available for its detection. Thus, there is still the need for the development of novel tumor markers. We examined plasma levels of eight proteins in 15 renal cell carcinoma patients before and after surgery, and in 51 healthy controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Plasma levels of α-enolase, calnexin, galectin-1, galectin-3 and lectin mannose-binding 2 were significantly higher in renal cell carcinoma patients than in controls (P < 0.05). Among these proteins, the sensitivities for galectin-1 and galectin-3 were higher than those for calnexin and lectin mannose-binding 2 in the specificity range from 80% to 100%. A combined use of galectin-1 and galectin-3 showed 98% specificity and 47% sensitivity. In addition, the assays showed that plasma α-enolase levels decreased significantly 4 weeks after nephrectomy (P = 0.0034), and this tendency continued until 12 weeks after nephrectomy (P = 0.0156). These findings suggest that α-enolase could be used in the postoperative follow up of renal cell carcinoma patients, whereas the combined use of galectin-1 and galectin-3 might represent a useful tool for primary detection.
authors.affiliation: Life Science Research Center, Technology Research Laboratory, Shimadzu Corporation, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Akinobu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gotoh
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: Ei-ichi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matsuo
authors.forename: Shuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Terao
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Gaku
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hamami
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ikekita
authors.forename: Katsuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Nishimura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002292:Carcinoma, Renal Cell / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D037483:Galectin 1 / Q000097:blood*; D037502:Galectin 3 / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007680:Kidney Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000097:blood*; D011182:Postoperative Care
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D037483:Galectin 1; D037502:Galectin 3; C445499:LGALS1 protein, human; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase