Ren Biqiong, Zou Guoying, Xu Fei, Huang Yiran, Xu Guofeng, He Junyu, Li Yong, Zhu Haowen, Yu Ping
Clinical Laboratory, Hunan Provincial Second People's Hospital, Changsha, Hunan 410007, P.R. China.
Clinical Medical School, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Hunan 410007, P.R. China.
Oncol Lett. 2017 Dec;14(6):7608-7614. doi: 10.3892/ol.2017.7152. Epub 2017 Oct 9.
At present, there is a high incidence of viral hepatitis and high mortality rates due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in China. In the current study, the quantification of antibodies against the cancer-testis antigen sperm-associated antigen 9 (SPAG9), alone and combined with α-fetoprotein (AFP), were evaluated as biomarkers for the diagnosis of HCC. The levels of anti-SPAG9 antibody and AFP were quantified in serum samples from patients with HCC and hepatitis or cirrhosis, as well as healthy volunteers. The results revealed that the serum levels of anti-SPAG9 immunoglobulin G antibody in patients with HCC were significantly higher compared with those in patients with hepatitis/cirrhosis and healthy controls. Using receiver operator characteristic curves, the area under the curve (AUC, 0.870) of SPAG9 as a diagnostic marker of HCC was significant [P<0.001; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.793-0.947], whereas the AUC of AFP was 0.832 (P<0.001; 95% CI, 0.736-0.928). Serum anti-SPAG9 antibody levels exhibited significant potential for the differential diagnosis of HCC, with an AUC value of 0.729, (P=0.008; 95% CI, 0.559-0.899). Similarly, serum AFP levels exhibited significant value for the differential diagnosis of HCC, with an AUC value of 0.842 (P<0.001; 95% CI, 0.732-0.953). When combined with quantification of AFP, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of anti-SPAG9 levels were increased. In summary, the results suggested that anti-SPAG9 antibody is a potential early diagnostic marker of HCC.
目前，中国病毒性肝炎发病率高，肝细胞癌（HCC）导致的死亡率也很高。在本研究中，评估了癌症-睾丸抗原精子相关抗原9（SPAG9）抗体单独及与甲胎蛋白（AFP）联合作为HCC诊断生物标志物的情况。对HCC患者、肝炎或肝硬化患者以及健康志愿者的血清样本中抗SPAG9抗体和AFP水平进行了定量分析。结果显示，HCC患者血清中抗SPAG9免疫球蛋白G抗体水平显著高于肝炎/肝硬化患者和健康对照。使用受试者工作特征曲线，SPAG9作为HCC诊断标志物的曲线下面积（AUC，0.870）具有显著性[P<0.001；95%置信区间（CI），0.793-0.947]，而AFP的AUC为0.832（P<0.001；95%CI，0.736-0.928）。血清抗SPAG9抗体水平在HCC鉴别诊断中显示出显著潜力，AUC值为0.729，（P=0.008；95%CI，0.559-0.899）。同样，血清AFP水平在HCC鉴别诊断中也显示出显著价值，AUC值为0.842（P<0.001；95%CI，0.732-0.953）。当与AFP定量联合使用时，抗SPAG9水平的诊断敏感性和特异性提高。总之，结果表明抗SPAG9抗体是HCC潜在的早期诊断标志物。
