title: Upregulation of soluble B7-H3 in NSCLC-derived malignant pleural effusion: A potential diagnostic biomarker correlated with NSCLC staging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The B7 family member B7-H3 (CD276) is involved in tumor immunity including Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We have previously demonstrated an elevated circulating level of the soluble form of B7-H3 (sB7-H3) in NSCLC patients. However, the expression of sB7-H3 in NSCLC-derived malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) and its clinical significance remain elusive.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured and compared sB7-H3 levels in NSCLC-derived MPEs (n=52) and nonneoplastic pleural effusions (NPEs) (n=47), and then evaluated the diagnostic performance for sB7-H3 in NSCLC-derived MPEs. The correlation between MPE-derived sB7-H3 and clinical characteristics including TNM staging system was also analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median value of sB7-H3 in 52 MPEs and 47 NPEs were 41.60ng/ml (interquartile range: 36.76-51.30ng/ml) and 31.55ng/ml (interquartile range: 26.97-36.63ng/ml) (P<0.0001), respectively. At the proposed cut-off value at 38.41ng/ml, sB7-H3 was capable of discriminating NSCLC-derived MPEs from NPEs with a sensitivity of 67.3% and a specificity of 91.5% respectively. Furthermore, MPEs-derived sB7-H3 was correlated with smoking status (P=0.005), primary tumor size (T factor, P=0.03), regional lymph node dissemination (N factor, P=0.019) and distant metastasis (M factor, P=0.009) of NSCLC patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Upregulated sB7-H3 expression in MPEs is correlated with TNM stage of NSCLC and may serve as a potential biomarker for NSCLC-derived MPEs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Liwen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Clinical Immunology Laboratory and Institute of Medical Biotechnology, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
authors.forename: Guangbo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Center, The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Shouqin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China. Electronic address: shiheguan@126.com.
authors.forename: Shihe
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guan
mesh_terms: D060887:B7 Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016066:Pleural Effusion, Malignant; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D060887:B7 Antigens; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C423237:CD276 protein, human
keywords: Lung cancer; Pleural effusions; TNM stage; Tumor biomarker; sB7-H3