DNA Replication Licensing Proteins for Early Detection of Lung Cancer

Abstract

<br /> <strong><span style="font-size: small;">Background: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">To identify and characterize malignant and premalignant cells in sputum and matched tissue samples with reference to expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCM2, MCM5) and cell division cycle protein 6 (CDC 6) and to assess their potential as biomarkers of premalignant and malignant lesions of the lung and associations with clinicopathological features. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Methods: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Expression of MCM2, MCM5 and 6 proteins in sputum </span></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">samples and corresponding tissues was assessed by immunocytochemistry, and correlated with histological findings. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Results: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">For characterization of malignant, metaplastic or dysplastic cells, CDC6 protein had the highest sensitivity of 87.7%. All the three markers together had a sensitivity of 94.4%. Furthermore these proteins could be employed to assess the proliferative potential of precancerous or atypical cells, as overexpression increasing with the stage of disease and degree of metastasis. </span></span><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Conclusion: </span></strong><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman,Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The assessed markers can be utilized in routine cytopathology laboratories to supplement conventional morphological evaluation so that the sensitivity of sputum cytology can be enhanced. Potential applications in predicting the clinical behavior of lung lesions and predicting prognosis and survival deserve further attention. </span></span>