Application of urinary 5-aminolevulinic acid detection in screening and identification of colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps

Abstract

Objective To study the application of urinary 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA)detection in screening and identification of colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps. Methods The clinical data of 500 high-risk patients(including 22 cases with colorectal cancer, 134 cases with adenomatous polyps, and 344 cases with other patients) at the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University from January 2018 to October 2018 were collected. High performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) was used to detect urinary 5-ALA and fecal occult blood test was used to detect faeces. Sensitivity and specificity of two methods was compared. At the same time, urine samples of 431 cases(including 22 cases with colorectal cancer, 134 cases with adenomatous polyps and 275 cases with colorectal normal mucosa)were collected, and the difference of the content of urinary 5-ALA among three groups was compared. Results The sensitivity of urinary 5-ALA for the colorectal cancer screening was74.9%, and the specificity was 72.5%. The sensitivity of urinary 5-ALA for the adenomatous polyps screening was 70.1%, and the specificity was75.0%. The sensitivity of fecal occult blood test for the colorectal cancer screening was 63.6%, and the specificity was 62.1%. The sensitivity of fecal occult blood test for the adenomatous polyps screening was 42.3%, and the specificity was 62.5%. The content of urinary 5-ALA of the colorectal cancer group [(9.35 ± 0.46) μmol/g] was significantly higher than that of the adenomatous polyps group [(7.24 ± 0.64) μmol/g] (P < 0.05) and normal colorectal mucosa group [(3.12 ± 0.24) μmol/g] (P < 0.05), and the content of urinary 5-ALA of the adenomatous polyps group was significantly higher than that of colorectal normal mucosa group (P < 0.05). Conclusions For screening of colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps, the content of urinary 5-ALA by HPLC is better than fecal occult blood test, and this approach can do great help to identify colorectal cancer, adenomatous polyps and normal colorectal mucosa. Key words: 5-aminolevulinic acid; Colorectal neoplasm; Adenomatous polyps; High performance liquid chromatography; Fecal occult blood test