title: A study of lipid- and protein- bound sialic acids for the diagnosis of bladder cancer and their relationships with the severity of malignancy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The gold standard for detection of bladder cancer is cystoscopy, which is an invasive and complicated procedure. Our study was conducted to find a tumor marker with high specificity, sensitivity, and accuracy for the diagnosis of bladder cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum samples were collected from 58 bladder cancer patients and 60 healthy control subjects. Levels of lipid-bound sialic acid (LBSA), and protein-bound sialic acid (PBSA) were measured spectrophotometrically by Aminoff's method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean levels of both markers were found to be significantly higher in the patients than the healthy controls. Positive correlations were observed between serum levels of lipid- (r=0.283, p<0.05) and protein- bound (r=0.56, p<0.05) sialic acids and the grade of malignancy. To differentiate patients with bladder tumors from healthy controls, cut-offpoints were determined for each of the two parameters based on Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis (LBSA=21.25 mg/dL, PBSA=6.15 mg/dL). The data showed good sensitivities (LBSA=89%, PBSA=79%), specificities (LBSA=70%, PBSA=70%) and accuracies (LBSA=83%, PBSA=81%) for both markers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Measuring serum LBSA and PBSA by this simple, reproducible, noninvasive, and inexpensive method can accurately discriminate cancer patients from healthy individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Molecular Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Shima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Habibi
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Medical School, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jamshidian
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kadivar
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Eshraghian
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Molecular Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hassan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Javanbakht
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Molecular Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hoda
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Derakhshanian
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular and Molecular Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Djalali
keywords: N-Acetylneuraminic Acid; Tumor Markers; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms