title: Quantification of serum MET in non-small-cell lung cancer and its clinical significance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) plays a critical role in the development and progression of lung cancer. We aimed to quantify the level of serum MET DNA, analyze its diagnostic value, and provide a novel biomarker for lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum MET DNA was extracted from 95 patients with lung cancer, 10 with benign lung diseases, and 34 healthy volunteers. MET DNA was quantified using real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR). Data were analyzed using statistical software SPSS 17.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum MET DNA level in the lung cancer group was higher than in the healthy group and benign lung diseases group. Serum MET DNA level was higher in lung cancers patients with smoking, squamous cell carcinoma, advanced TNM stage, and increased tumor size. The difference in serum MET DNA level was not related to sex, age, and lymph node metastasis among the lung cancer patients. The receiver operating characteristic curve showed a sensitivity of 72.6% and specificity of 90.9% for the ability of serum MET DNA to detect lung cancer at the cutoff value of 1.30 × 10(4) copies/μL. The association of serum MET DNA level with existing clinical lung tumor markers was analyzed, including neuron-specific enolase, squamous cell carcinoma antigen, and cytokeratin fragment 21-1. With the combination of serum MET DNA, the sensitivity was raised from 39.1%, 24.9%, 66.1% to 83.3%, 79.4% and 90.7%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quantification of serum MET DNA by FQ-PCR may serve as a novel accessible diagnostic tool for the clinical screening and detection of lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratories, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Detao
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of dermatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Fengzeng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratories, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Yanfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratories, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
authors.forename: Dandan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Clinical Laboratories, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China. Electronic address: huichen@cqmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005453:Fluorescence; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met / Q000097:blood*; D012372:ROC Curve; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D019859:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met
keywords: Diagnostic value; Non-small-cell lung cancer; Serum MET; Tumor biomarker