Multiple serological biomarkers for colorectal cancer detection

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• Colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis relies on methods with limitations, especially for early stages.
• Identifying novel serological biomarkers is crucial for improving CRC detection rates.
• Autoantibody responses to tumor-associated antigens are potential indicators of cancer presence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey human autoantibody responses against specific colorectal tumor-associated antigens.
• To identify novel serological biomarkers for colorectal cancer detection.
• To evaluate the diagnostic potential of combined autoantibody profiles and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA).

Main Methods:

• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to screen autoantibodies.
• Sera from 94 CRC patients and 54 healthy controls were analyzed.
• Recombinant proteins (rCCCAP, rHDAC5, rP53, rNMDAR, rNY-CO-16) and CEA were used as coating antigens.

Main Results:

• Seropositivity to individual antigens ranged from 18.1% to 35.1% in CRC patients.
• Seropositivity to any of the 5 antigens was 58.5%; combined with CEA, it reached 77.6%.
• For early-stage CRC, combining autoantibodies and CEA yielded 65.9% diagnostic capacity, outperforming individual markers.

Conclusions:

• Combined detection of autoantibodies against selected antigens and CEA shows promise as a diagnostic biomarker for CRC.
• This combined approach offers enhanced diagnostic capacity, particularly for early-stage colorectal cancer.
• Further validation of these autoantibody profiles could lead to improved non-invasive CRC screening tools.