title: Detection of cancer embryo antigen and endothelin-1 in exhaled breath condensate: A novel approach to investigate non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: The present study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of cancer embryo antigen (CEA) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). EBC samples were collected from 143 patients with NSCLC and 119 healthy individuals by using an EBC collector. The CEA and ET-1 levels in the EBC and serum were detected. The levels of CEA and ET-1 in the serum and EBC of the NSCLC group were higher compared with those of the healthy group. The level of CEA in the EBC of the adenocarcinoma group was higher compared with that in the squamous cell carcinoma group. The levels of CEA and ET-1 in the serum and EBC in stages III and IV were higher compared with those in stages I and II. The levels of CEA and ET-1 in the EBC were positively correlated with those in the serum, and furthermore, they exhibited high specificity and sensitivity. Thus, these parameters may be used to diagnose lung cancer. The detection of CEA and ET-1 in EBC may help the process of diagnosing and monitoring the progression of NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, P.R. China; Department of Respiration Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jin-Liang
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiration Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xue-Dong
authors.initials: XD
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiration Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiration Respiratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong 226001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jian-Rong
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215006, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jian-An
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Huang
keywords: cancer embryo antigen; endothelin-1; exhaled breath condensate; non-small cell lung cancer