title: Serum YKL-40 level is associated with the chemotherapy response and prognosis of patients with small cell lung cancer.
abstract: This study was to explore the association between the serum YKL-40 level and the clinical characteristics, the response to chemotherapy and prognosis in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Serum YKL-40 levels were detected and compared in 120 patients with SCLC pre- and post-chemotherapy, and in 40 healthy controls. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were adopted for diagnosis and calculation of area under ROC curve in SCLC. The Kaplan-Meier method, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis were used to analyze the correlation between pre-chemotherapy serum YKL-40 levels and progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The pre-chemotherapy serum YKL-40 levels were significantly higher than those of the controls (p<0.001). The post-chemotherapy serum YKL-40 levels in the SCLC cases were lower than pre-chemotherapy serum YKL-40 levels in these cases (p = 0.026). The patients with high serum YKL-40 showed a poorer response to chemotherapy than those patients with low serumYKL-40 (p = 0.031). Univariate analysis revealed that SCLC patients with high serum YKL-40 had a shorter PFS and OS than those with low serum YKL-40 (HR of 1.74, p = 0.033; HR of 1.33, p = 0.001). Cox multivariate analysis indicated that YKL-40 was an independent prognostic indicator of PFS and OS (HR of 1.12, p = 0.029; HR of 1.84, p = 0.025). Kaplan-Meier survival curves further confirmed that patients with low serum YKL-40 have longer PFS and OS (p = 0.016 and p = 0.041, respectively). These results suggest that YKL-40 is a potential prognostic marker of chemotherapy response in SCLC.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Respiratory Medicine and Nanjing Chest Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Clinical Center of Nanjing Respiratory Diseases, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Chun-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: First Department of Respiratory Medicine and Nanjing Chest Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Clinical Center of Nanjing Respiratory Diseases, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Li-Ke
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: First Department of Respiratory Medicine and Nanjing Chest Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Clinical Center of Nanjing Respiratory Diseases, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Ke-Ke
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Hao
mesh_terms: D054392:Adipokines / Q000097:blood*; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000071451:Chitinase-3-Like Protein 1; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D037102:Lectins / Q000097:blood*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D055752:Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D054392:Adipokines; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C084533:CHI3L1 protein, human; D000071451:Chitinase-3-Like Protein 1; D037102:Lectins