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. 2018 Jul;22(7):481-498.
doi: 10.1007/s10151-018-1820-3. Epub 2018 Jul 18.

Systematic review of blood diagnostic markers in colorectal cancer

Stella Nikolaou  1   2   3 , Shengyang Qiu  4   5 , Francesca Fiorentino  5 , Shahnawaz Rasheed  4   6   5 , Paris Tekkis  4   6   5 , Christos Kontovounisios  4   6   5
Affiliations

Systematic review of blood diagnostic markers in colorectal cancer

Stella Nikolaou et al. Tech Coloproctol. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

The purpose of this systematic review was to compare the diagnostic ability of blood markers for colorectal cancer (CRC). A systematic review of the literature for diagnostic blood markers for primary human colorectal cancer over the last 5 years was performed. The primary outcome was to assess the diagnostic ability of these markers in diagnosing colorectal cancer. The secondary outcome was to see whether the marker was compared to other markers. The tertiary outcome was to assess diagnostic ability in early versus late CRC, including stage IV disease. We identified 51 studies (29 prospective, 14 retrospective, and 8 meta-analyses). The markers were divided in broadly four groups: nucleic acids (RNA/DNA/messenger RNA/microRNAs), cytokines, antibodies, and proteins. The most promising circulating markers identified among the nucleid acids were NEAT_v2 non-coding RNA, SDC2 methylated DNA, and SEPT9 methylated DNA. The most promising cytokine to detect CRC was interleukin 8, and the most promising circulating proteins were CA11-19 glycoprotein and DC-SIGN/DC-SIGNR. Sensitivities of these markers for detecting primary colorectal carcinoma ranged from 70 to 98% and specificities from 84 to 98.7%. The best studied blood marker was SEPT9 methylated DNA, which showed great variability with sensitivities ranging from 48.2 to 95.6% and specificities from 80 to 98.9%, making its clinical applicability challenging. If combined with fecal immunochemical test (FIT), the sensitivity improved from 78 to 94% in detecting CRC. Methylated SEPT9, methylated SDC2, and -SIGN/DC-SIGNR protein had better sensitivity and specificity than CEA or CA 19-9. With the exception of SEPT9 which is currently being implemented as a screening test for CRC all other markers lacked reproducibility and standardization and were studied in relatively small population samples.

Keywords: Biomarkers; Bowel cancer; Diagnosis; Review; Serum; Tissue.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article is compliant with ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was not required for this study.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA diagram of systematic review
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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