Blood-based lung cancer biomarkers identified through proteomic discovery in cancer tissues, cell lines and conditioned medium.
BACKGROUND
Support for early detection of lung cancer has emerged from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), in which low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening reduced lung cancer mortality by 20 % relative to chest x-ray. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently recommended annual screening for the high-risk population, concluding that the benefits (life years gained) outweighed harms (false positive findings, abortive biopsy/surgery, radiation exposure). In making their recommendation, the USPSTF noted that the moderate net benefit of screening was dependent on the resolution of most false-positive results without invasive procedures. Circulating biomarkers may serve as a valuable adjunctive tool to imaging.


RESULTS
We developed a broad-based proteomics discovery program, integrating liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analyses of freshly resected lung tumor specimens (n = 13), lung cancer cell lines (n = 17), and conditioned media collected from tumor cell lines (n = 7). To enrich for biomarkers likely to be found at elevated levels in the peripheral circulation of lung cancer patients, proteins were prioritized based on predicted subcellular localization (secreted, cell-membrane associated) and differential expression in disease samples. 179 candidate biomarkers were identified. Several markers selected for further validation showed elevated levels in serum collected from subjects with stage I NSCLC (n = 94), relative to healthy smoker controls (n = 189). An 8-marker model was developed (TFPI, MDK, OPN, MMP2, TIMP1, CEA, CYFRA 21-1, SCC) which accurately distinguished subjects with lung cancer (n = 50) from high risk smokers (n = 50) in an independent validation study (AUC = 0.775).


CONCLUSIONS
Integrating biomarker discovery from multiple sample types (fresh tissue, cell lines and conditioned medium) has resulted in a diverse repertoire of candidate biomarkers. This unique collection of biomarkers may have clinical utility in lung cancer detection and diagnoses.
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Charles E
CE
Birse
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Robert J
RJ
Lagier
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
William
W
FitzHugh
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center, 530 First Avenue, New York, NY USA.
Harvey I
HI
Pass
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY USA.
William N
WN
Rom
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA.
Eric S
ES
Edell
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA.
Aaron O
AO
Bungum
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA.
Fabien
F
Maldonado
Division of Oncology, National Jewish Health, Denver, CO USA.
James R
JR
Jett
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Mehdi
M
Mesri
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Erin
E
Sult
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Elizabeth
E
Joseloff
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Aiqun
A
Li
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Jenny
J
Heidbrink
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Gulshan
G
Dhariwal
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Chad
C
Danis
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Jennifer L
JL
Tomic
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Robert J
RJ
Bruce
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Paul A
PA
Moore
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Tao
T
He
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Marcia E
ME
Lewis
Celera employees during the course of these studies, Celera, 1311 Harbor Bay Parkway, Alameda, CA 94502 USA.
Steve M
SM
Ruben
Biomarker; Discovery; Early detection; Lung cancer; Mass spectrometry; Proteomics