Circulating autoantibodies to LGALS3BP: a novel biomarker for cancer
Antonino Grassadonia1, Nicola Tinari2, Clara Natoli1
1Department of Experimental and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University, 66100 Chieti, Italy.
Purpose:
Circulating autoantibodies have been extensively investigated as possible markers for early diagnosis of cancer. The present study was carried out to investigate whether anti-LGALS3BP IgG autoantibodies could be classified as a biomarker for malignant tumors.
Methods:
An in-house developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect autoantibodies to LGALS3BP in sera from 71 patients with various types of cancers and 54 healthy subjects matched by age and gender.
Results:
Patients with cancer have significant higher circulating levels of anti-LGALS3BP antibodies as compared to control subjects (P < 0.001). The test has a sensitivity of 33% and a specificity of 98%.
Conclusions:
Anti-LGALS3BP IgG autoantibodies are a promising biomarker for malignant tumors and could play a role in the development of a multimarker assay for the early detection of cancer.
