Assessing benefits of combining biochemical and immunological markers in patients with lung carcinoma.

Establishment of a simple biochemical index for diagnosis of cancer and management of patients with neoplastic diseases remains one of the important goals to be achieved in cancer research. The current investigation 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 controls (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 non-smokers. TSA and 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.