Background: Lung cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and there is an urgent need for sensitive, specific, and reliable biomarkers.
Methods: The study population included 60 patients (31 with lung cancer and 29 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD]) and thirty healthy individuals comprised the control group. Measurements of neutrophil, beclin-1, VEGF, ICAM, VCAM, and TNF-alpha levels in induced sputum were analyzed as possible biomarkers for lung cancer.
Results: Neutrophil, beclin-1, VEGF, ICAM and TNF-alpha levels of lung cancer patients differed significantly compared to those of COPD patients and healthy controls. A novel combined-score was created which was found to increase the likelihood to belong to the cancer group by 70% (odds-ratio 1.70 CI = 1.310-2.224,p < 0.001).
Conclusion: Biomarkers of autophagy, angiogenesis and inflammation in lung-cancer patients are significantly different from controls, and combination of these markers may be an indicator for lung cancer.
Keywords: Angiogenesis; Biomarkers; Inflammation; Screening.
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