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Elevated pretreatment serum concentration of YKL-40: An independent prognostic biomarker for poor survival in patients with colorectal cancer

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Abstract

Serum YKL-40 levels have been associated with a poor prognosis in patients with several cancer types. However, the role of YKL-40 and its relationship with colorectal cancer are poorly understood. Pretreatment serum levels of YKL-40 were determined in 86 patients with colorectal cancer and from 20 healthy controls. The serum YKL-40 levels in colorectal cancer patients were compared with those in healthy controls, and we retrospectively assessed the association between serum YKL-40 levels and clinicopathological findings and progression-free survival. Colorectal patients had a median serum YKL-40 level of 216 ng/mL (range 22.3–1, 253.2 ng/mL). Expression of serum YKL-40 levels was significantly higher in colorectal cancer patients compared with healthy controls, and the median serum values were 216 and 62.5 ng/mL, respectively (p < 0.01). No correlation was observed between progression-free survival and the type of chemotherapy regimen used tumor stage, sex, or histologic types. Patients with high serum YKL-40 levels [greater than the median level for all patients (216 ng/mL)] had a significantly shorter survival than patients with serum YKL-40 levels below the median (median progression-free survival, 36 vs. 50 months; p = 0.003). In multivariate analysis, the serum YKL-40 level, and the presence of distant metastasis were independent, statistically significant prognostic factors. The pretreatment serum YKL-40 level was identified as a new, independent prognostic biomarker in patients with colorectal cancer and may help to determine the individual prognosis of these patients.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by research grants from the Nature Science Foundation of Liaoning Province, China (9151008901000149).

Conflict of interests

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported. The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oncology Department, 1st Affiliated Hospital Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China

    Xiaomei Liu, Yinxu Zhang, Zhitu Zhu, Minwen Ha & Yu Wang

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  1. Xiaomei Liu
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  2. Yinxu Zhang
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  3. Zhitu Zhu
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  4. Minwen Ha
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  5. Yu Wang
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Correspondence to Yinxu Zhang.

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Liu, X., Zhang, Y., Zhu, Z. et al. Elevated pretreatment serum concentration of YKL-40: An independent prognostic biomarker for poor survival in patients with colorectal cancer. Med Oncol 31, 85 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-014-0085-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-014-0085-6

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