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Fucosylation genes as circulating biomarkers for lung cancer

  • Original Article – Cancer Research
  • Published:
Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Fucosyltransferases (FUTs) catalyze fucosylation, which plays a central role in biological processes. Aberrant fucosylation is associated with malignant transformation. Here we investigated whether transcriptional levels of genes coding the FUTs in plasma could provide cell-free circulating biomarkers for lung cancer.

Methods

mRNA expression of all 13 Futs (Fut1-11, Pofut1, and Pofut2) was evaluated by PCR assay in 48 lung tumor tissues and the 48 matched noncancerous lung tissues, and plasma of 64 lung cancer patients and 32 cancer-free individuals to develop plasma Fut biomarkers. The developed plasma Fut biomarkers were validated in an independent cohort of 40 lung cancer patients and 20 controls for their diagnostic performance.

Results

Four of the 13 Futs showed a different transcriptional level in 48 lung tumor tissues compared with the 48 matched nonconscious tissues (all < 0.05). Two (Fut8, and Pofut1) of the four Futs had a higher plasma level in 64 lung cancer patients compared with 32 control subjects, and consistent with that in lung tissue specimens. Combined analysis of the two Futs produced 81% sensitivity and 86% specificity for diagnosis of lung cancer, and was independent of stage and histology of lung tumors. The diagnostic performance of the two plasma biomarkers was successfully validated in the different cohort of 40 lung cancer patients and 20 control individuals.

Conclusion

The fucosylation genes may provide new circulating biomarkers for the early detection of lung cancer.

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Funding

This work was supported in part by NCI R21CA205746, VA Merit Award I01 CX000512, Award from the Geaton and JoAnn DeCesaris Family Foundation, and Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) Commercialization Program-Phase 1/2 Grant (F.J.)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The University of Maryland School of Medicine, 10 South Pine Street, MSTF 7th Floor, Baltimore, MD, 21201-1192, USA

    Qixin Leng, Jen-Hui Tsou & Feng Jiang

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 660 W. Redwood St., Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA

    Min Zhan

Authors
  1. Qixin Leng
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  2. Jen-Hui Tsou
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  3. Min Zhan
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  4. Feng Jiang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Feng Jiang.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors. All participants were provided with information about the research project that was understandable and that permitted them to make an informed and voluntary decision about whether or not to participate.

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Supplementary table 1. Primers and probes of 13 Futs (XLSX 10 KB)

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Leng, Q., Tsou, JH., Zhan, M. et al. Fucosylation genes as circulating biomarkers for lung cancer. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 144, 2109–2115 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-018-2735-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-018-2735-0

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