The value of plasma netrin-1 in non-small cell lung cancer patients as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker

Netrin-1 is found to be elevated and purposive as a diagnostic biomarker in many human cancers. We evaluated serum netrin-1 concentrations in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer compared with those in a healthy group. Thirty patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and 30 healthy people were included in the study. Serum netrin-1 concentrations were measured by quantitative ELISA method in both groups. The mean serum netrin-1 concentrations were found to be significantly higher in patients with non-small cell lung cancer than in healthy controls. The mean serum netrin-1 concentrations were found to be significantly higher in patients with non-small cell lung cancer before the beginning of chemotherapy when compared after the completion of the third cycle. Our results represented that netrin-1 concentrations elevated in advanced non-small cell lung cancer compared to a healthy control group, and netrin-1 concentrations decreased with chemotherapy.