Circulating carbohydrate antigen Ca10H predicts favorable prognosis in colorectal cancer

Non-invasive biomarkers for early detection and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) remain an unmet clinical need. In this work, we investigated Ca10H, a novel circulating carbohydrate antigen, as a plasma biomarker with prognostic value in CRC. Plasma Ca10H was quantified by ELISA in a retrospective cohort of 448 individuals, including CRC patients (n = 301), patients with colorectal adenomas (n = 52), and healthy volunteers (n = 95). Ca10H levels were significantly elevated in CRC patients and were even higher in patients with adenomas, showing an inverse association with tumor progression. Importantly, baseline Ca10H levels were significantly higher in patients who survived compared with those who died during follow-up, both in univariate and multivariate analyses. Consistently, CRC patients with high plasma Ca10H levels exhibited improved disease-specific survival over an up to 10-year follow-up period, and Cox regression analysis confirmed high Ca10H levels as an independent positive prognostic factor (HR 0.592, 95% CI 0.428 - 0.819, p = 0.002). These findings highlight Ca10H as a promising non-invasive biomarker associated with a favorable prognosis in CRC, with strong potential for patient stratification and improving personalized management.