Conclusions
BGN can be a potential biomarker for lung cancer.
Methods
First, we performed immunohistochemistry of BGN with resected lung tumor tissues of 155 patients who had undergone thoracic surgery and analyzed the correlation between BGN-positive vessel density in primary lung tumors and clinicopathological factors. Second, we measured the BGN levels in preoperative serum of other 46 patients with lung cancer by ELISA, and analyzed the correlation between BGN expression in tumor tissues and blood BGN levels.
Results
High BGN expression in the TECs was significantly associated with T factor, and was a significant negative predictor. BGN levels in preoperative serum of 46 patients with lung cancer was significantly correlated with BGN expression in the TECs. Preoperative serum BGN level was significantly lower in healthy volunteers and less invasive adenocarcinoma than in invasive adenocarcinoma and other lung carcinomas. These results suggest that low BGN level in preoperative serum in patients with lung cancer might indicate low malignancy. Conclusions: BGN can be a potential biomarker for lung cancer.