title: The role of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and thymidine kinase (TK) levels in prediction of efficacy ofEGFR-TKIs in patients with advanced-stage NSCLC [corrected].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Tumor biomarkers are used for diagnostics and follow-up monitoring of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We focused on the predictive role of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and thymidine [corrected] kinase (TK) in patients with advanced-stage NSCLC treated with epidermal growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs).
  
  
  METHODS
  In a total of 163 patients with advanced-stage (IIIB or IV) NSCLC treated with EGFR-TKIs (erlotinib or gefitinib), pre-treatment levels of NSE and TK were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed significantly shorter progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with high NSE levels (p=0.002; p=0.003) and also in those with high TK levels (p=0.026; p=0.020). The multivariate Cox proportional hazards model confirmed that high NSE is a strong independent predictive factor for short PFS (hazard ratio; HR=2.36; p=0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High pre-treatment serum levels of NSE is an independent biomarker predicting poor outcome of patients with NSCLC treated with EGFR-TKIs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical School and Teaching Hospital in Pilsen, Charles University in Prague, Pilsen, Czech Republic fiala.o@centrum.cz.
authors.forename: Ondrej
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fiala
authors.affiliation: Department of Pneumology, Medical School and Teaching Hospital in Pilsen, Charles University in Prague, Pilsen, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Milos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pesek
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical School and Teaching Hospital in Pilsen, Charles University in Prague, Pilsen, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jindrich
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Finek
authors.affiliation: Center for Applied Genomics of Solid Tumours, Genomac Research Institute, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Benesova
authors.affiliation: Center for Applied Genomics of Solid Tumours, Genomac Research Institute, Prague, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minarik
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biostatistics and Analyses, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Zbynek
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bortlicek
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical School and Teaching Hospital in Pilsen, Charles University in Prague, Pilsen, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Ondrej
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Topolcan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013937:Thymidine Kinase / Q000378:metabolism*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D013937:Thymidine Kinase; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase
keywords: EGFR-TKI; NSCLC; NSE; Predictive biomarkers; TK