Int J Biol Sci 2019; 15(9):1977-1992. doi:10.7150/ijbs.36284 This issue Cite
Research Paper
1. Department of Clinical Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, P. R. China
2. Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, P. R. China
3. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan Tumor Hospital, Zhengzhou 450100, P. R. China
# Equal contributors
Background: Currently, there are no molecular biomarkers for the early detection of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study focused on identifying RNAs found on tumor-educated blood platelets (TEPs) for detecting stage I NSCLC.
Methods: Platelet RNAs, isolated from the blood of 9 patients with NSCLC (stages I and II) and 8 healthy controls, were analyzed using RNA-seq. ITGA2B was selected as a candidate marker. Two different Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR) were used to measure ITGA2B in platelet samples from healthy controls (n = 150), patients with NSCLC (n = 243), and patients with benign pulmonary nodules (n = 141) in two cohorts.
Results: Platelet ITGA2B levels were significantly higher (p < 0.001) in patients with NSCLC than in all controls. The diagnostic accuracy of ITGA2B was area under the curve (AUC) of 0.922 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.892-0.952], sensitivity of 92.8%, and specificity of 78.6% in the test cohort and 0.888, 91.2%, and 56.5% in the validation cohort for NSCLC by quantitative real time PCR (q-PCR). Furthermore, ITGA2B maintained diagnostic accuracy for patients with NSCLC using Droplet Digital PCR (ddPCR) and the other type of internal control, Ribosomal Protein L32 (RPL32) [ddPCR: 0.967 (0.929-1.000) and RPL32: 0.847(0.773-0.920)]. A nomogram incorporating ITGA2B, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and stage could predict the overall survival (C-index = 0.756).
Conclusions: TEP ITGA2B is a promising marker to improve identification of patients with stage I NSCLC and differentiate malignant from benign lung nodules.
Keywords: NSCLC, diagnosis, survival, tumor-educated blood platelets, ITGA2B