ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Minerva Medica 2014 April;105(2):137-47

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Identification of candidate serum biomarkers for small cell lung cancer by proteomics analysis

Shi J. ¹, Liu J. ², Liao L. ³, Guo Y. ², Wang H. ², Hu W. ⁴, Hu T. ⁵ ✉

¹ Department of Medical Oncology Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University Shijiazhuang, China; ² Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences Hebei Normal University Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China; ³ Academy of Integrative Medicine Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, China; ⁴ Department of Medical Oncology People hospital of Leling, Shandong, China; ⁵ Department of Medicine, Hebei Province Cangzhou City Integration of Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital East Cangzhou, China

AIM: Detection of novel tumor biomarker will aid in diagnosis of early-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The purpose of this study was to identify novel tumor biomarker in serum from patients with SCLC using a proteomics-based approach.
METHODS: Sera were analyzed before the initiation of chemotherapy. Serum proteins of SCLC patients and healthy controls were collected and separated by 2-D fluorescence differential gel electrophoresis (2-D DIGE). Positive spots were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Different expression of identified biomarker was verified by immunohistochemical method in wax specimen from 40 patients.
RESULTS: A total of 86 proteins were shown to be differentially abundant between the serum of SCLC patients and normal subjects by 2-D DIGE. Fifteen proteins were identified by LC-MS/MS. According to the bioinformatic analysis, these proteins are mainly involved in development and carcinogenesis. Some of them have been previously demonstrated to be important prognostic factors. Differential expression of 5 proteins between the normal tissue and cancerious tissue was confirmed by immunochemistry of SCLC patients.
CONCLUSION: We have identified different serum proteins between SCLC patients and healthy controls. These proteins may be potential serum biomarkers for early detection of SCLC and play a role in the development and metastasis of SCLC.