Ceren Tilgen Yasasever

Circulating annexin A2 as a biomarker in gastric cancer patients: Correlation with clinical variables

Annexin A2 (ANXA2) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple malignancies and its expression strongly also affects the outcomes of cancer patients. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the serum levels of ANXA2 in patients with gastric cancer. A total of 63 patients with a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of gastric cancer were enrolled into this study. Serum ANXA2 concentrations were determined by the solid-phase sandwich ELISA method. Age- and sex-matched 30 healthy controls were included in the analysis. The median age at diagnosis was 62years, range 28 to 82years. The baseline serum ANXA2 levels of the gastric cancer patients were a significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.001). The known clinical variables including age of patient, gender, site of lesion, histology, histological grade, stage of disease, and serum levels of LDH, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19.9 were not found to be correlated with serum ANXA2 concentrations (P>0.05). However, the chemotherapy-unresponsive patients had higher serum ANXA2 levels compared with chemotherapy-responsive ones (P=0.04). Conversely, serum ANXA2 concentration was found no prognostic role on survival (P=0.53). In conclusion, serum levels of ANXA2 may have a good diagnostic and predictive marker for response to chemotherapy in patients with gastric cancer and have not associated with prognosis.

Clinical significance of serum interleukin-18 (IL-18) levels in patients with gastric cancer.

An inappropriate production of interleukin-18 (IL-18) contributes to the pathogenesis of malignancies and may influence the clinical outcome of patients. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the serum levels of IL-18 in patients with gastric cancer. A total of 63 patients with a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of gastric cancer were enrolled into this study. Serum IL-18 concentrations were determined by the solid-phase sandwich Elisa method. Age- and sex-matched 30 healthy controls were included in the analysis. The median age at diagnosis was 62 years, range 28 to 82 years. The baseline serum IL-18 levels of the gastric cancer patients were a significantly higher than those in the control group (median values 1436.4 vs. 638.4 pg/mL, respectively, P<0.001). The known clinical variables including age of patient, gender, site of lesion, histology, histological grade, stage of disease, and serum tumor markers such as LDH, CEA, and CA 19.9 were not found to be correlated with serum IL-18 concentrations (P>0.05). Moreover, no correlation was found between serum IL-18 level and response to chemotherapy (P=0.34). Serum IL-18 concentration was also found no prognostic role on survival (P=0.21). In conclusion, serum levels of IL-18 may have a good diagnostic marker in patients with gastric cancer. However, its predictive and prognostic values were not determined.

Markers of Bone Metastases in Breast and Lung Cancers

AIM AND BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to evaluate correlations between serum osteocalcin, osteoprotegerin and NTX (Cross-linked N-telopeptides of Type I Collagen) and urinary NTX in breast and lung cancer patients with bone metastases. These four markers are considered to have important roles in bone formation, resorption and metastases. METHODS Four markers were determined in the sera of 60 breast cancer and 21 lung cancer patients and healthy controls (n=30). Serum levels were studied using ELISA and EIA. RESULTS The median levels of serum osteoprotegerin (p<0.001) and osteocalcin (p=0.003) were higher in patients. Significant correlations were observed between the serum NTX-osteocalcin (r=0.431; p<0.001), serum NTX- osteoprotegerin (r=0.42; p=0.003) and serum NTX - urine NTX (r=0.255; p=0.022). CONCLUSION We conclude that osteocalcin, osteoprotegerin and NTX are independent diagnostic tools. Due to the ease of urine collection, urine NTX may be applied routinely to allow early detection of bone metastases and indicate progression of the disease.

Clinical significance of serum caveolin-1 levels in melanoma patients.

Caveolin‐1 plays an important role in the pathogenesis of multiple malignancies, and its expression also strongly affects the outcomes of patients with cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the serum levels of caveolin‐1 in patients with melanoma.

Clinical significance of serum vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1) in colorectal cancer.

550 Background: Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is a transmembrane glycoprotein, which is expressed on endothelium and contributes in leukocyte adhesion and extravasation during inflammation. It has been demonstrated that VCAM-1 is over-expressed on colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and plays role in metastasis development and angiogenesis. We aimed to compare serum VCAM-1 levels of CRC patients with heathy controls and evaluate its relationship with clinicopathologic parameters, treatment response and overall survival (OS). Methods: The study enrolled 111 patients with histopathologically confirmed CRC followed up between February 2010-September 2013 in Institute of Oncology, Istanbul University and 30 sex- and age-matched healthy controls. Pre-treatment serum VCAM-1 levels were determined by the solid-phase sandwich ELISA method. Results: The cancer localisation was rectum in 40% and colon in 60% of patients. Metastatic disease was present in 51.4%. Forty percent of 40 metastatic patients who rec...