title: Serum AGR2 as a useful biomarker for pituitary adenomas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to evaluate whether the serum Anterior Gradient-2 (AGR2) can be used as a potential biomarker screening in the diagnosis of Pituitary adenomas(PAs).
  
  
  METHODS
  The serum AGR2 protein levels were preoperatively measured in 163 PA patients, 43 patients with other sellar lesions excluding PAs, 7 patients with prostate cancer as a positive control and 20 normal people(10 female and 10 male) using Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA). Differences in the serum AGR2 level between different groups were analyzed for statistical significance with a Mann-Whitney U test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The data showed that serum AGR2 level was significantly higher in the serum of PA patients (250.10±79.14ng/ml) than the patients with other sellar lesions (220.84±79.62ng/ml, P=0.017) and normal people (163.67±50.38ng/ml, P <0.001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used. The detected area under the curve (AUC) was 0.835. The calculated optimal cut-off point for AGR2 level in serum samples was 158.63ng/ml (Youden index=0.564). The sensitivity was 91.4% and the specificity was 65.0%. Despite the variety of PA clinical features, the serum level of AGR2 are definite in PAs, although there may be a difference between male or female patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggests AGR2 as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of PAs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, China; Department of Neurosurgery, The People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 91 Tianchi Road, Urumqi, 830001, China.
authors.forename: Mamatemin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tohti
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, China.
authors.forename: Junyang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, China.
authors.forename: Guodao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, The People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 91 Tianchi Road, Urumqi, 830001, China.
authors.forename: Abdukeyum
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdujilil
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, The People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 91 Tianchi Road, Urumqi, 830001, China.
authors.forename: Parhat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yizim
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, 305 East Zhongshan Road, Nanjing, 210002, China. Electronic address: machiyuan_nju@126.com.
authors.forename: Chiyuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009088:Mucoproteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D011506:Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: C502296:AGR2 protein, human; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D009088:Mucoproteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D011506:Proteins
keywords: Anterior gradient 2; Diagnosis; Pituitary adenoma; Serum biomarker