Overexpression of hnRNPA2/B1 in bronchoscopic specimens: a potential early detection marker in lung cancer
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Published on: February 28, 2019
S Katsimpoula1, M Patrinou-Georgoula, N Makrilia
1Sixth Department of Pneumology, Sotiria General Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Background:
Overexpression of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A2/B1 has recently been suggested to be a promising marker for early detection of lung cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the utility of its detection in bronchoscopic specimens.
Patients And Methods:
Brushing and biopsy specimens were obtained from 61 patients suspected of having lung cancer, as well as from 30 healthy subjects (controls), who underwent bronchoscopy. hnRNPA2/B1 expression levels were evaluated by immunoblotting.
Results:
Specificity of hnRNP A2/B1 overexpression was 75.9% in brushing and 78.3% in biopsy. Sensitivity in non-small cell lung cancer was 84.8% in brushing and 80.8% in biopsies, while in small cell lung cancer it was 66.7 % and 75%, respectively. Overexpression of hnRNPA2/B1 was also detected in bronchoscopic specimens of nine patients initially undiagnosed. The follow-up of these patients 2 years later showed that seven of them had developed lung cancer.
Conclusion:
Overexpression of hnRNPA2/B1 was significantly higher in patients suffering from lung cancer and may be useful in the early detection of lung cancer.
