Detection of sputum cofilin-1 as indicator of malignancy

Author(s):Show less -

M.P. Rangel ^[1] ; L. Antonangelo ^{[1, 2]} ; M.M.P. Acencio ^[3] ; C.S. Faria ^[2] ; V.K. de Sá ; P.S. Leão ^[6] ; C. Farhat ^[1] ; A.T. Fabro ^[6] ; A. Longatto Filho ^{[7, 8, 9, 10]} ; R.M. Reis ^{[7, 8, 9]} ; T. Takagaki ^[3] ; V.L. Capelozzi ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept Patol, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Lab Invest Med LIM 03, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Inst Coracao Incor, Div Pneumol, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[5] Universidade de São Paulo. Instituto do Coração (Incor), Faculdade de Medicina. Divisão de Pneumologia - Brasil

^[6] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med Ribeirao Preto, Dept Patol, Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[7] Univ Minho, Sch Hlth Sci, Life & Hlth Sci Res Inst ICVS, Braga - Portugal

^[8] Hosp Canc Barretos, Fundacao Pio XII, Ctr Pesquisa Oncol Mol, Barretos, SP - Brazil

^[9] PT Govt Assoc Lab, Guimaraes - Portugal

^[10] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Lab Invest Med LIM 14, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research; v. 51, n. 8 2018-05-28.

Abstract

Cofilin-1 (CFL1), a small protein of 18 kDa, has been studied as a biomarker due to its involvement in tumor cell migration and invasion. Our aim was to evaluate CFL1 as an indicator of malignancy and aggressiveness in sputum samples. CFL1 was analyzed by ELISA immunoassay in the sputum of 73 lung cancer patients, 13 cancer-free patients, and 6 healthy volunteers. Statistical analyses included ANOVA, ROC curves, Spearman correlation, and logistic regression. Sputum CFL1 levels were increased in cancer patients compared to cancer-free patients and volunteers (P<0.05). High expression of sputum CFL1 was correlated to T4 stage (P=0.01) and N stage (P=0.03), tobacco history (P=0.01), and squamous cell carcinoma histologic type (P=0.04). The accuracy of sputum CFL1 in discriminating cancer patients from cancer-free patients and healthy volunteers were 0.78 and 0.69, respectively. CFL1 at a cut-off value of 415.25 pg/mL showed sensitivity/specificity of 0.80/0.70 in differentiating between healthy volunteers and cancer patients. Sputum CFL1 was also able to identify cancer-free patients from patients with lung cancer. The AUC was 0.70 and, at a cut-off point ≥662.63 pg/mL, we obtained 60% sensitivity and 54% specificity. Logistic regression analysis controlled for tobacco history, histologic types, and N stage showed that cancer cell-associated CFL1 was an independent predictor of death. Smoker patients with squamous cell carcinoma, lymph node metastasis and sputum CFL1>1.475 pg/mL showed augmented chance of death, suggesting lung cancer aggressiveness. CFL1 presented diagnostic value in detecting lung cancer and was associated to tumor aggressiveness. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/11005-5 - Hyaluronan detection and cytokine gene expression: predictive and prognostic impact as new lung cancer markers
• Grantee: Vera Luiza Capelozzi
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants