Clinical diagnostic value of combined detection of serum PCT, NSE and CEA in small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Objective To investigate the clinical value of procalcitonin (PCT), neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the diagnosis of small cell lung cancer. Methods From January 2016 to December 2017, 142 lung cancer patients admitted to the Respiratory Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were excluded from lung infection and other newly diagnosed lung cancer patients, they were divided into 3 groups: small cell carcinoma group (n=47), adenocarcinoma group (n=45) and squamous cell carcinoma group (n=50). And healthy subjects who underwent physical examination at the same time were selected as the control group (n= 40). Three serum markers including PCT, NSE and CEA were detected and analyzed among each group. Results PCT, NSE, CEA levels were significantly different in the small cell carcinoma group, the adenocarcinoma group and the squamous cell carcinoma group (P all <0.01). The PCT positive rate and NSE positive rate of small cell carcinoma group were significantly higher than those of other groups (P<0.05). The best cut-off points of PCT, NSE and CEA for the differential diagnosis of small cell lung cancer, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma were 0.115 ng/ml, 16.56 ng/ml and 3.71 ng/ml, respectively. The values area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.763, 0.889 and 0.646. The sensitivity values of PCT, NSE and CEA were 61.7%, 77.9% and 59.6%. The specificity values were 80.0%, 87.2% and 73.7%. Combined detection of PCT, NSE and CEA increased the sensitivity to 89.4%, specificity to 88.6%, and accuracy to 92.0%. Conclusions Compared with the detection of any one or two markers in PCT, NSE and CEA, combined detection of CEA, PCT and NSE markers can contribute to the diagnosis and pathological typing of small cell lung cancer. Key words: Procalcitonin; Neuron-specific enolase; Carcinoembryonic antigen; Small cell lung cancer; Receiver operating characteristic curve