Specific Proteins in Blood May Indicate Lung Cancer : University of Michigan Study

According to a recent article summary published at pubmed.gov, researchers at University Of Michigan shown that it is possible to diagnose lung cancer based on the presence of distinctive proteins in blood samples.

Considering that specific proteins are produced and released by cancer cells, cancer serum protein profiling by mass spectrometry is often used to identify specific mass profiles that can be associated with various types of cancer cells. Identification of the distinctive proteins, therefore, has been a focus of many research initiatives aimed at early detection of various types of cancers.

During the course of this study by University of Michigan researchers, nitrocellulose-coated microscope slides of eighty-four antibodies that included a wide range of serum protein samples gathered from patients diagnosed with lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and healthy control subjects were used. The blood samples were obtained from 24 healthy individuals, 24 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients, and 32 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The researchers observed that seven of the 84 protein antibodies gave a significant difference (p < 0.01) for the lung cancer patients as compared to healthy controls, as well as compared to COPD patients.

Proteins that exhibited higher abundances in the lung cancer samples relative to the control samples included C-reactive protein (CRP; a 13.3 fold increase), serum amyloid A (SAA; a 2.0 fold increase), mucin 1 and alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1A; a 1.4 fold increase).

All 56 individuals without cancer (controls subjects, and COPD patients) were correctly identified by protein analysis, and approximately 60% of lung cancers were also correctly identified.

These findings demonstrate a strong possibility that a distinctive serum protein profile involving abundant proteins may be observed in lung cancer patients relative to healthy subjects or patients with chronic disease. Therefore, it may be possible to diagnose lung cancer based on presence of specific proteins in blood samples.

Sources: Various publications, including Gao W-M, Kuick R, Orchekowski R, et al. Distinctive serum protein profiles involving abundant proteins in lung cancer patients based upon antibody microarray analysis summary published at PubMed website.