title: Decreased levels of circulating sex hormones as a biomarker of lung cancer in male patients with solitary pulmonary nodules.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An early differentiation of malignant from benign solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) is essential for management and prognosis of lung cancer.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Here we investigated whether measurement of circulating sex hormones could be useful for an early detection of malignancy among patients with SPNs.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 47 patients with malignant SPNs 45 patients with benign SPNs, and 32 healthy persons. Testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone were measured. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as well as TNF-α, IL-1 and IL-6 were also measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that sex hormones were decreased significantly in patients with malignant SPNs, as compared to patients with benign SPNs and healthy controls (P<0.05). Sex hormones levels showed a trend to decline in patients with benign SPNs as compared to normal controls, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). CEA levels were only abnormally elevated in eight patients with lung adenocarcinoma. The inflammatory cytokines were remarkably higher in both patients than in normal controls. However, there was no statistical difference in these cytokines among patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The reduced sex hormones levels seemed to be uniquely associated with lung cancer. Therefore, measurement of sex hormones may have clinical potential in the diagnosis of malignancy in patients with SPNs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zongmei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shufeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haixia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Youan Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, Beijing 100069, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei Province, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhanzhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200433, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lv
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000097:blood; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D015850:Interleukin-6; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: biomarkers; lung cancer; sex hormones; solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs)