The expression of plasmic DCLK1 in patients with colorectal cancer and its clinical significance / 肿瘤

ABSTRACT

Objective: To examine the plasmic expression level of doublecortinlike kinase 1 (DCLK1) in patients with colorectal cancer and explore its diagnostic value through comparing with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Methods: The plasma samples were obtained from 78 patients with colorectal cancer before surgical operation and 48 healthy volunteers. The plasmic expression levels of DCLK1 and CEA were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of DCLK1 and CEA alone as well as in combination for diagnosis of colorectal cancer were compared. The relationships of the plasmic expression levels of DCLK1 and CEA with the clinicopathological features were analyzed. Results: The plasmic expression levels of DCLK1 and CEA in patients with colorectal cancer were both higher than those in the healthy volunteers (both P < 0.01). The sensitivity and accuracy of DCLK1 for diagnosis of colorectal cancer were both higher than those of CEA. The combination of DCLK1 and CEA could further improve the sensitivity and accuracy of diagnosis. The plasmic expression level of DCLK1 had a significant impact on TNM staging, degree of differentiation, lymph node metastasis and vascular invasion (all P < 0.01). Conclusion: Plasmic DCLK1 is expected to become a novel tumor biomarker for diagnosis of colorectal cancer, and it is associated with the grade of malignancy.