title: Combination of autoantibodies against NY-ESO-1 and viral capsid antigen immunoglobulin A for improved detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
abstract: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in Southern China and Southeast Asia, and early detection remains a challenge. Autoantibodies have been found to precede the manifestations of symptomatic cancer by several months to years, making their identification of particular relevance for early detection. In the present study, the diagnostic value of serum autoantibodies against NY-ESO-1 in NPC patients was evaluated. The study included 112 patients with NPC and 138 normal controls. Serum levels of autoantibodies against NY-ESO-1 and classical Epstein-Barr virus marker, viral capsid antigen immunoglobulin A (VCA-IgA), were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Measurement of autoantibodies against NY-ESO-1 and VCA-IgA demonstrated a sensitivity/specificity of 42.9/94.9% [95% confidence interval (CI), 33.7-52.6/89.4-97.8%] and 55.4/95.7% (95% CI, 45.7-64.7/90.4-98.2%), respectively. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve for autoantibodies against NY-ESO-1 (0.821; 95% CI, 0.771-0.871) was marginally lower than that for VCA-IgA (0.860; 95% CI, 0.810-0.910) in NPC. The combination of autoantibodies against NY-ESO-1 and VCA-IgA yielded an enhanced sensitivity of 80.4% (95% CI, 71.6-87.0%) and a specificity of 90.6% (95% CI, 84.1-94.7%). Moreover, detection of autoantibodies against NY-ESO-1 could differentiate early-stage NPC patients from normal controls. Our results suggest that autoantibodies against NY-ESO-1 may serve as a potential biomarker, as a supplement to VCA-IgA, for the screening and diagnosis of NPC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, P.R. China ; The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, The Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yu-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, P.R. China ; The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, The Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China ; Institute of Oncologic Pathology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yi-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: The Breast Center, The Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Si-Qi
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncological Research Lab, The Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chao-Qun
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, The Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tian-Tian
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, The Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: En-Min
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, The Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China ; Institute of Oncologic Pathology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Li-Yan
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Xu
keywords: NY-ESO-1; autoantibody; diagnosis; nasopharyngeal carcinoma; viral capsid antigen immunoglobulin A