title: Tenascin-C serum levels and its prognostic power in non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tenascin-C is overexpressed in the stroma of most solid malignancies and may function as a diagnostic tumor marker. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential significance of Tenascin-C as a predictive marker for tumor progression in the sera of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum concentration of Tenascin-C is significantly elevated in NSCLC patients compared to healthy controls (p=0.013). The sensitivity of Tenascin-C in detecting NSCLC was 74% at a specificity of 57%. Elevated Tenascin-C serum values are associated with larger tumor size and lymph node involvement (p=0.022 and p=0.036, respectively). The Kaplan-Meyer-curves showed a significant association of Tenascin-C with the patient's overall survival (p=0.004), but not with the recurrence-free survival (p=0.328).
  
  
  METHODS
  We quantified Tenascin-C in the sera of 103 NSCLC patients and 76 healthy blood donors by enzyme-linked immune-absorbance assay tests. Prognostic significance was determined by area under the curve analysis and Youden-index. The results were correlated with clinical, histopathological, and patient survival data (Chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier analysis, log-rank test, multivariate Cox-regression analysis).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although significantly elevated in patients with NSCLC, the sensitivity and specificity of the Tenascin-C serum quantification test was low. However, although failing to be an independent prognosticator in multivariate analysis, the results implicate Tenascin-C as a predictive prognostic marker for NSCLC patients. The data must be further validated in future prospective trials with larger patient cohorts.
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gebauer
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Suyin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gelis
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Hilke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zander
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Karl-Frederick
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerrit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wolters-Eisfeld
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jakob R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Izbicki
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Maximilian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bockhorn
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Visceral and Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tachezy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood / Q000556:secondary*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D019063:Tenascin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019063:Tenascin
keywords: NSCLC; biomarker; lung cancer; prognostic marker; serum