Circulating CD45+EpCAM+ cells as a diagnostic marker for early-stage primary lung cancer

• Published in: Frontiers in medical technology 2022-09, Vol.4, p.982308-982308
• Main Authors: Sun, Zhen, Li, Peng, Wu, Zhaojun, Li, Bin, Li, Wenjing, Zhao, Mingming, Zhou, Xiaobin, Wang, Zeyao, Yu, Zhongjie, Liu, Wenna, Zhu, Wenshu, Wang, Haibo, Wang, Yongjie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: CD45+ EpCAM+ cells; CEA; diagnosis; lung cancer; Medical Technology; PBMCs
• ISSN: 2673-3129; 2673-3129
• DOI: 10.3389/fmedt.2022.982308

Lung cancer is a highly prevalent type of cancer, accounting for 11.6% of all cancer incidences. Early detection and treatment can significantly improve the survival rate and quality of life of patients; however, there is no accurate, effective, and easy-to-use test for early lung cancer screening. In this study, flow cytometry was used to detect the presence of CD45 + EpCAM + cells in tumor tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in patients with lung cancer. Moreover, the proportion of CD45 + EpCAM + cells in PBMCs of patients with lung cancer was found to be significantly higher than that of healthy volunteers. Tumor-related serum markers level was also measured in the peripheral blood of these patients using an electrochemiluminescence assay. The correlation between CD45 + EpCAM + cells, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and lung cancer was investigated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, which showed the sensitivity and specificity of the CD45 + EpCAM + cell to be 81.58% and 88.89%, respectively. Further analysis yielded an area under the ROC curve (ROC/area under the curve [AUC]) of 0.845 in patients PBMCs with lung cancer, which was slightly higher than that of CEA (0.732). Therefore, the detection of CD45 + EpCAM + cells in PBMCs may be helpful for the early screening and auxiliary diagnosis of lung cancer.