Abstract
BackgroundThe diagnostic and prognostic significance of increased cathepsin B (CTSB) and cathepsin D (CTSD) concentration in the serum of cancer patients were evaluated for some tumor types. High expression of CTSD and CTSB was detected in biopsy tissues from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, whether CTSD and CTSB serve as diagnostic and prognostic markers of NPC remains unclear.MethodsSerum samples were collected from 40 healthy volunteers and 80 NPC patients enrolled in the study. CTSB and CTSD in the serum samples were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Concomitantly, the relationship between CTSB and CTSD concentrations and clinicopathological prognosis was assessed. The sensitivity and specificity of the two components in the diagnosis of NPC were evaluated in 80 NPC patients.ResultsELISA analysis showed that in the sera obtained from NPC patients, the CTSB concentration was 12.5 ± 3.5 mg/L (median, 12.4 mg/L), and the CTSD concentration was 15.7 ± 8.7 mg/L (median, 14.7 mg/L). CTSB and CTSD levels were significantly higher in the NPC patient population compared to the healthy control population (p = 0.001; p = 0.001, respectively). The presence of CTSB and CTSD in the serum of the patients with NPC correlated with the tumor node metastasis (TNM) scores (p = 0.001). Other parameters were not identified to be of significance. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed that a cut off CTSB concentration of 12.4 mg/L had 61.9 % sensitivity and 63.2 % specificity in the prediction of progression-free survival (Area under the curve (AUC) = 0.525; 95 % CI, 39.7–65.2; p = 0.704); whereas a cut off CTSD concentration of 14.7 mg/L had 66.7 % sensitivity, and 58.5 % specificity (AUC = 0.552; 95 % CI, 42.3–68.1; p = 0.42).ConclusionsSerum CTSB and CTSD concentrations were found to have a diagnostic value in NPC. However, the CTSB and CTSD serum levels had no prognostic role for the outcome in NPC patients.
Highlights
The diagnostic and prognostic significance of increased cathepsin B (CTSB) and cathepsin D (CTSD) concentration in the serum of cancer patients were evaluated for some tumor types
Our results showed that serum CTSB and CTSD concentrations are of diagnostic significance for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients; they have no prognostic value in NPC patient outcomes
CTSB and CTSD were identified to be associated with various cancer types [8], and we previously showed that CTSB and CTSD play important roles in NPC development and metastasis [13]
Summary
The diagnostic and prognostic significance of increased cathepsin B (CTSB) and cathepsin D (CTSD) concentration in the serum of cancer patients were evaluated for some tumor types. CTSD is from the family of aspartic proteases that function in intracellular catabolism at lysosomal compartments; other physiological effects include hormone and antigen processing [10, 11]. While they can both degrade laminin, fibronectin, collagen, and other extracellular matrix components, and promote the formation of tumor blood vessels [12], there is no similarity in their amino acid sequences. Our results showed that serum CTSB and CTSD concentrations are of diagnostic significance for NPC patients; they have no prognostic value in NPC patient outcomes
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