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Lung cancer may increase serum procalcitonin level
Virginie Avrillon1, Myriam Locatelli-Sanchez, Laure Folliet
1Centre Leon Berard, LYON, France. Virginie.AVRILLON@lyon.unicancer.fr.
Infectious Disorders Drug Targets
|March 27, 2015
Summary
Serum procalcitonin (PCT) can be falsely elevated in lung cancer patients, especially those with neuroendocrine tumors or multiple metastases. This finding impacts infection diagnostic algorithms.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Biomarker Research
- Infectious Disease Diagnostics
Background:
- Serum procalcitonin (PCT) is a standard infection biomarker.
- Malignancies can cause false-positive PCT results.
- PCT's role in lung cancer is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate procalcitonin (PCT) positivity in lung cancer patients.
- To identify factors associated with elevated PCT in lung cancer.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 89 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients without infection signs.
- Pre-antineoplastic serum procalcitonin (PCT) levels measured by immunofluorescent assay.
Main Results:
- 42% of lung cancer patients had positive PCT.
- Neuroendocrine component (AOR=7.24) and multiple metastases were associated with positive PCT.
- Elevated PCT was more common in neuroendocrine lung cancers.
Conclusions:
- Lung cancer, particularly neuroendocrine types, can lead to false-positive procalcitonin (PCT) results.
- Consider PCT levels in lung cancer patients to avoid misdiagnosis of infection.
- Findings are crucial for PCT-based clinical decision-making algorithms.
