Carbohydrate antigen 15-3 as a marker of disease severity in patients with chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis

Biomarkers associated with mucin 1, such as Krebs von den Lungen-6 and carbohydrate antigen (CA) 15-3, are increased in various interstitial lung diseases. Our aim was to determine whether CA 15-3 could be considered a biomarker of disease severity in patients with chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (cHP).

This was a prospective observational study involving adult patients with cHP. Serum levels of CA 15-3 were measured and were correlated with variables related to disease severity and extension. HRCT scans were quantitatively analyzed using a computational platform and an image analysis tool (Computer Aided Lung Informatics for Pathology Evaluation and Rating). CA 15-3 levels were normalized by logarithmic transformation.

The sample comprised 41 patients. The mean age of the patients was 60.1 ± 11.6 years. The mean FVC in % of predicted was 70.3% ± 17.3%, and the median of the serum level of CA 15-3 was 48.1 U/mL. CA 15-3 levels inversely correlated with FVC in % of predicted (r = -0,30; p = 0,05), DLCO in % of predicted (r = -0,54; p < 0,01), and SpO2 at the end of a 4-min step test (r = -0,59; p < 0,01), but they directly correlated with total quantitative HRCT scores (r = 0,47; p = 0,004), especially regarding ground-glass opacities (r = 0.58; p < 0,001).

CA 15-3 is likely to be a biomarker of disease severity of patients with cHP, particularly regarding gas exchange abnormalities.