Multiple sequential biomarkers in monitoring patients with carcinoma of the lung

To correlate serial biomarkers and disease activity in carcinoma of the lung, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), C3-derived protein (C3DP-C), and LDH were assayed in 43 patients with small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) and in 20 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (15 with adenocarcinoma, three with squamous cell carcinoma, and two with mixed histology). Disease status after treatment was rated as one of the following: complete response, partial response, minor regression, stable disease, and progressive disease. Significant correlations between disease status and markers in SCLC were found for CEA, NSE, LDH, and ACTH. In NSCLC, only CEA and LDH showed significant correlation. Marker-marker correlations were significant in SCLC for CEA and NSE (P less than 0.05), CEA and LDH (P = 0.01), and NSE and LDH (P less than 0.01); in NSCLC none were significant. None of the markers exhibited significant correlations with specific metastatic sites. Certain biomarkers (CEA, NSE, and LDH in SCLC; CEA and LDH in NSCLC) can be used alone or in combination to monitor disease activity but appear to be no more sensitive than standard clinical investigational methods.