Study on circulating molecular marker of micrometastasis in non-small cell lung cancer

Objective: To explore the diagnostic value of carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA),CK19,Lunx mRNA in peripheral blood of patients for the micrometastasis in non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). Methods: RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of CEA, CK19,and Lunx mRNA in peripheral blood samples from 46 patients with NSCLC and 18 patients with benign pulmonary lesion. Results: The positive rates of Lunx,CEA and CK19 mRNA were 52.2%, 43.5% and 41.3% respectively in peripheral blood of patients with NSCLC. The positive rates of Lunx,CEA and CK19 mRNA in stage Ⅰ were 16.6% (1/6), 16.6% (1/6) and 0% (0/6) respectively, and they had no significant differences with control(P > 0.05). The positive rates of Lunx mRNA in stageⅡ, stage Ⅲ, and stage Ⅳ patients were 44.4% (4/9), 50.0% (7/14), and 70.6% (12/17) respectively. The positive rates of CEA mRNA were 33.3% (3/9), 50.0% (7/14) and 52.9% (9/17) respectively. The positive rates of CK19 mRNA were 22.2% (2/9),42.9% (6/14) and 64.7% (11/17) respectively. The positive rates of Lunx mRNA in stage Ⅱ,CEA mRNA and Lunx mRNA in stage Ⅲ, and Lunx, CEA, CK19 mRNA in stage Ⅳ had significant differences with control (P < 0.05-P < 0.01). Conclusions: The expressions of CEA, CK19 and Lunx mRNA in peripheral blood can be used as diagnostic biomarkers of micrometastasis in patients with NSCLC.