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. 2021 Nov 21;11(11):1273.
doi: 10.3390/life11111273.

A Potential Serum Biomarker for Screening Lung Cancer Risk in High Level Environmental Radon Areas: A Pilot Study

Narongchai Autsavapromporn  1 , Pitchayaponne Klunklin  1 , Imjai Chitapanarux  1 , Churdsak Jaikang  2 , Busyamas Chewaskulyong  3 , Patumrat Sripan  4 , Masahiro Hosoda  5 , Shinji Tokonami  6
Affiliations

A Potential Serum Biomarker for Screening Lung Cancer Risk in High Level Environmental Radon Areas: A Pilot Study

Narongchai Autsavapromporn et al. Life (Basel). .

Abstract

Radon is a major cause of lung cancer (LC) deaths among non-smokers worldwide. However, no serum biomarker for screening of LC risk in high residential radon (HRR) areas is available. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine diagnostic values of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin 19 fragment (Cyfra21-1), human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), interleukin 8 (IL-8), migration inhibitory factor (MIF), tumor nuclear factor-alpha (TNF-α) and vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF) occurring in high radon areas. Seventy-five LC non-smoker patients and seventy-five healthy controls (HC) were enrolled in this study. Among the HC groups, twenty-five HC were low residential radon (LRR) and fifty HC were HRR. Significantly higher (p < 0.0004) serum levels of CEA, Cyfra21-1, IL-8 and VEGF were found in the LC compared with the LRR and HRR groups. More importantly, significantly higher levels (p < 0.009) of serum CEA, Cyfra21-1 and IL-8 were observed in HRR compared with the LRR group. Likewise, a ROC curve demonstrated that serum CEA and Cyfra21-1 could better distinguish LC risk from HRR groups than IL-8. These results indicated that serum CEA and Cyfra21-1 were significantly increased in the HRR group and may be considered as potential biomarkers for individuals at high-risk to develop LC.

Keywords: CEA; Cyfra21-1; lung cancer; radon; serum biomarker.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Geological map of Thailand. (a) Map of Thailand; (b) The study area location in Chiang Mai. Geological map of Thailand obtained from the Nations Online Project (Available online: https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/thailand_map.htm (accessed on 15 September 2021).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Levels of serum in lung cancer (LC) patients and healthy controls (HC). (a) CEA; (b) Cyfra21-1; (c) HE4; (d) IL-8; (e) MIF; (f) TNF-α; (g) VEGF.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Levels of serum in lung cancer (LC) patients, low residential radon (LRR) and high residential radon (HRR). (a) CEA; (b) Cyfra21-1; (c) HE4; (d) IL-8; (e) MIF; (f) TNF-α; (g) VEGF.
Figure 4
Figure 4
ROC curves for the diagnosis of LC risk in LC patients compared to HRR groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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