title: M30/M65 ratio predicts the outcome of paclitaxel chemotherapy for NSCLC.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Paclitaxel is an effective treatment for some of the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. However, prediction of the outcome of paclitaxel treatment at the early stage of the chemotherapy is difficult. M30 and M65 are circulating fragments of cytokeratin 18 released during apoptosis or necrosis, respectively, and have been used as markers to evaluate chemotherapy in some cancers. Here, we aimed to examine M30 and M65 values for predicting the therapeutic outcome of paclitaxel treatment of NSCLC.
  
  
  METHODS
  The serum levels of M30 and M65 before and after paclitaxel treatment in advance-stage NSCLC patients were analyzed, and compared to those in healthy controls. The importance of the M30 and M65 levels to the outcome of chemotherapy was analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that the serum M30 and M65 levels were higher in patients with NSCLC (n = 44) than in control healthy subjects (n = 56) (p < 0.001). Two days after paclitaxel treatment, the serum levels of both M30 and M65 significantly increased in NSCLC patients (p < 0.001). Neither marker alone significantly correlated with overall patient survival, but the ratio of M30 vs M65 appeared to be an important prognostic factor for the overall survival of the patients (p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that the serum M30/M65 ratio may be a prognostic factor for the outcome of paclitaxel treatment in NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 241 Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 241 Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Med-X Research Institute and School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai, 200030, China. weihai_ying16@163.com.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 241 Huaihai Road, Shanghai, 200030, China. hanbao_hui@163.com.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Han
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053538:Keratin-18 / Q000097:blood*; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009336:Necrosis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000097:blood*; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D053538:Keratin-18; C561463:M30 cytokeratin-18 peptide, human; C577325:M65 antigen, human; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D017239:Paclitaxel
keywords: Chemotherapy; Cytokeratin 18; M30; M65; Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); Paclitaxel