title: Diagnostic Value of Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) and Cancer Antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) in the Diagnosis of Pleural Effusions
abstract: Introduction: Pleural effusion diagnosis plays an important role in determining treatment strategies. The aim
  of this study was to determine the diagnostic capacity of tumor markers CA 15-3 and NSE solely or in combination
  in differentiating the nature of pleural fluid. Methods and Materials: In this cross-sectional study we evaluated 93
  patients with pleural effusions (44 malignant and 49 benign). NSE and CA 15-3 serum and pleural levels were measured
  simultaneously using immunoenzyme assay kits. Diagnosis was established on the basis of cytological study. Results:
  Sensitivity and specificity of CA 15-3 serum and pleural level measurement were 70.4%, 49.0%, and 79.5% and 49.0%,
  respectively. Serum NSE levels had 75.0% sensitivity and 69.4% specificity while the respective pleural figures were
  75.0% and 73.5%. The combination of NSE and CA 15-3 serum and pleural levels had the highest sensitivity (93.2%),
  although combined serum levels had the lowest sensitivity (47.7%). With an accuracy of 74.2%, pleural levels of NSE
  had the highest diagnostic potential. Conclusion: Measuring NSE and CA 15-3 tumor markers is a suitable approach
  to distinguish the nature of pleural effusions, with NSE pleural levels demonstrating the highest diagnostic accuracy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran. Email: toraj.valeh@outlook.com
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.forename: Toraj
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Valeh
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ehteram
authors.forename: Hamed
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Haddad Kashani
authors.forename: Mahdiyeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghazi Zahedi
keywords: Pleural effusion; neuron; specific enolase; cancer antigen 15-3; diagnostic