Serum tumor markers for detection of bone metastases in patients with lung neuroendocrine neoplasms"

Abstract

Background: Bone metastases (BM) are related to worse outcome in patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENpts).

Aim: Assess utility of serum tumor markers (STM) for detection of BM in lung NENpts.

Material and methods: Diagnostic metrics of STM, such as ferritin, carbohydrate antigens 19-9 (CA19-9), cancer antigen 125 (CA125), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and beta-2 microglobulin (BMG) were assessed in 62 Lung NEN patients (LNENpts), both with BM (BM-LNENpts) and without BM (non-BM-LNENpts) and 40 controls.

Results: Except AFP, the mean circulating STM levels in LNENpts were significantly increased vs controls (p<0.04), but the most significant difference was in CA19-9 and CEA. BM-LNENpts exhibited an elevated level only for ferritin (n=6; 180.75±53.73 ng/ml; [182.68] compared to non-BM-LNENpts (n=56; 94.33±98.80 ng/ml; [70.35], p<0.001). Three from all used STM (ferritin, BMG and CA125) could differentiate BM-LNENpts from nonBM-LNENpts (area under the curve (AUC)=0.884 for ferritin, 0.74 for BMG and 0.658 for CA 125, p<0.05). These all three STM showed significant sensitivity (100%) by lower specificity in the detection of BM.

Conclusions: Some of the STM seem to have clinical utility for detection of BM-LNEN. The single good marker was ferritin (the high AUC, sensitivity and specificity) and fair biomarker was BMG. BM-LNENpts could be diagnosed by using CEA. The follow-up with combinations of STM (ferritin, BMG) could increase the diagnostic efficacy of BM-LNENpts. This requires further studies with larger patient groups.

Keywords: bone metastases, biomarkers; lung neuroendocrine neoplasm.