Multi-center Study on the Application Potential of Siaα-2,6Gal in Early and Differential Diagnosis of Lung Cancer
Description
Objective: This study aimed to investigate the application potential of the abnormal glycan structure Siaα-2,6Gal in the early and differential diagnosis of lung cancer. Methods: Clinical data and serum samples from 730 patients and 120 healthy individuals participating in clinical trials on Siaα-2,6Gal were collected at three medical centers between January 2022 and June 2023. Serum levels of Siaα-2,6Gal, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen (CYFRA21-1), squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP) were measured. The application potentials of these markers in the early and differential diagnosis, classification, and staging of lung cancer were explored. Results: (1) Serum Siaα-2,6Gal levels in the lung cancer group were 2,606 (1,970–3,458) U/mL, significantly higher than those in the benign lung disease, miscellaneous malignant tumor, miscellaneous benign disease, and healthy individual groups at 1,359 (950–1,528), 1,252 (903–1,532), 1,196 (850–1,490), and 1,210 (1,100–1,287) U/mL (P < 0.0001). (2) Serum Siaα-2,6Gal levels in the early-stage lung cancer (stages 0–II) group were 2,576 (1,929–3,338) U/mL, significantly higher than those in the benign pulmonary nodule group at 1,419 (1,105–1,820) U/mL (P < 0.0001). (3) Receiver operating characteristic curves showed that Siaα-2,6Gal had a high diagnostic efficiency for lung cancer (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.9217), significantly superior to CEA, CYFRA21-1, SCC, NSE, and ProGRP (AUCs of 0.6618, 0.6605, 0.5783, 0.5985, and 0.6381). Conclusion: Siaα-2,6Gal is a promising biomarker for lung cancer diagnosis and may offer superior differential diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer from benign pulmonary nodules compared to traditional tumor markers.