ASSESSING BENEFITS OF COMBINING BIOCHEMICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL MARKERSIN PATIENTS WITH LUNG-CARCINOMA

Establishment of a simple biochemical index for diagnosis of cancer an d management of patients with neoplastic diseases remains one of the i mportant goals to be achieved in cancer research. The current investig ation determined serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), total sialic acid (TSA) and lipid bound sialic acid (LSA) in 192 untreated lung cancer patients and compared with 80 age- and sex-matched control s (44 non-smokers and 36 smokers). The levels of all the markers were significantly elevated (P < 0.001) in lung cancer patients compared to the controls. CEA and LSA values were significantly raised (P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively) in smokers compared to nonsmokers. TSA an d LSA values were more sensitive than CEA for diagnosis of lung cancer . Mean values of the three markers were higher in non-responders (n = 5) compared to the responders (n = 10). The results suggest that along with CEA, TSA and LSA might be included as routine parameters in lung cancer patients.