Background: To study the gene polymorphism and the dynamic changes of the level of α₁-antitrypsin(α₁-AT) in patients with lung cancer of Chinese Han race in Harbin and its clinical significance.
Methods: The phenotypes of α₁-AT from 99 patients with lung cancer and 749 normal persons were determined by polyacrylamide gel isoelectricfocusing electrophoresis. The levels of α₁-AT in serum were determined by monophonic immunodiffusion.
Results: The common subtypes, such as M₁M₁ , M₁M₂ , M₂M₃, etc, were positive and the deficiency subtype was negative in both of the two groups. There was no significant difference in phenotypes and gene frequencies between the two groups ( P > 0. 05) . The level of α₁-AT in patients with lung cancer were remarkably higher than that in normal group ( P < 0. 05) , and significantly increased after anti-inflammatory or/and chemical treatment ( P < 0. 05) .
Conclusions: There is no significant difference in gene polymorphism of α₁-AT between the patients with lung cancer and normal persons, but the dynamic changes of α₁-AT are valuable to differentiate inflammation from cancer, estimate the efficacy of chemotherapy, and formulate and adjust the treatment scheme.