Comparison of the diagnostic value of CEA combined with OPN or DKK1 in non-small cell lung cancer

Carcinoma embryonic antigen (CEA), osteopontin (OPN), and Dickkopf-1 (DKK1) expressed in serum are associated with hypoxia in tumor progression. However, the role of these proteins in the plasma of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poorly understood. The diagnostic values of CEA combined with OPN or DKK1 were compared in non-small cell lung cancer. This study investigated the diagnostic value of CEA combined with OPN and DKK1, respectively, in NSCLC. Eighty patients with NSCLC (NSCLC group) and 60 patients with benign lung diseases (benign lung disease group) admitted to Shandong Provincial Third Hospital from May 2014 to January 2015 were selected as the study subjects. In addition, 60 healthy subjects undergoing normal physical examination were selected as healthy control group. The OPN and DKK1 in serum of the two groups were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the CEA expression was measured by Electrochemical Photometric method. The diagnostic value of CEA combined with OPN and DKK1, respectively, in NSCLC was analyzed. The expression of CEA, OPN, and DKK1 in serum of NSCLC group was significantly higher than that of healthy control group and benign lung disease group (P<0.05). The expression of CEA, OPN and DKK1 in serum of NSCLC patients was correlated with tumor diameter, lymph node metastasis, degree of pathological differentiation and clinical stage (P<0.05). ROC curve for diagnosis of NSCLC was drawn by further combination of serum CEA and OPN. The AUC of combined diagnosis of CEA and OPN for NSCLC was 0.920 (95% CI, 0.875-0.964), and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 87.50 and 86.67%, respectively; the AUC of combined diagnosis of CEA and DKK1 for NSCLC was 0.912 (95% CI, 0.866-0.958), and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 92.50 and 76.67%, respectively. CEA, OPN and DKK1 may be involved in the occurrence and progression of NSCLC and have good sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of NSCLC and may be new biomarkers for the diagnosis of NSCLC.