• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3159-3161
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• 2013

Aim: We designed this study to investigate the neutrophil lymphocyte ratio as a biomarker in distinguishing colonic polyps which are neoplastic or non-neoplastic. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty-five patients with colonic polyps were enrolled into the study. The following data were obtained from a computerized patient registry database: mean platelet volume (MPV), uric acid (UA), platelet count (PC), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR). Exclusion criteria were active infectious disease, hematological disorders, and malignancies. Colonic polyps divided into two groups as neoplastic polyps (tubular adenoma, villous adenoma, tubulovillous adenoma) and non-neoplastic polyps (hyperplastic polyps, inflammatory pseudopolyps etc). The relationship between colonic polyp type and NLR was evaluated with statistical analysis. Results: There were 67 patients (53.6%) with neoplastic and 58 (46.4%) patients with non-neoplastic polyps. Mean NLRs of neoplastic and non-neoplastic groups were respectively $3.32{\pm}2.54$ and $2.98{\pm}3.16$ (P<0.05). Conclusion: Although sensitivity and specificity are not high, NLR may be used as a biomarker of neoplastic condition of colonic polyps.

• BMB Reports
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• v.41 no.9
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• pp.615-625
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• 2008

Over a last decade, intense interest has been focused on biomarker discovery and their clinical uses. This interest is accelerated by the completion of human genome project and the progress of techniques in proteomics. Especially, cancer biomarker discovery is eminent in this field due to its anticipated critical role in early diagnosis, therapy guidance, and prognosis monitoring of cancers. Among cancers, lung cancer, one of the top three major cancers, is the one showing the highest mortality because of failure in early diagnosis. Numerous potential DNA biomarkers such as hypermethylations of the promoters and mutations in K-ras, p53, and protein biomarkers; carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CYFRA21-1, plasma kallikrein B1 (KLKB1), Neuron-specific enolase, etc. have been discovered as lung cancer biomarkers. Despite extensive studies thus far, few are turned out to be useful in clinic. Even those used in clinic do not show enough sensitivity, specificity and reproducibility for general use. This review describes what the cancer biomarkers are for, various types of lung cancer biomarkers discovered at present and predicted future advance in lung cancer biomarker discovery with proteomics technology.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.79-83
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• 2018

This study compared serum concentrations of suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) between healthy and heartworm- infected dogs. Eighteen heartworm-infected dogs and five healthy dogs were included in the study. Dogs were diagnosed and categorized by history, clinical signs, and blood assay, thoracic radiography, echocardiography, and commercial ELISA kit results. Serum samples were sent to the IDEXX reference laboratory for NT-proBNP measurement. ST2 was examined by using a canine interleukin 33 receptor ELISA kit with the quantitative sandwich ELISA method. The severely infected group showed significant elevation of NT-proBNP concentration over those of the control (P=0.03) and mildly infected (P=0.04) group. There were no significant difference in ST2 concentrations among the three groups. The usefulness of NT-proBNP as a cardiac biomarker in dogs with severe heartworm disease was confirmed by the results of this study. Further investigations to assess ST2 as a cardiac biomarker are warranted.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.410-427
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• 2023

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have provided novel tools for rapid and precise pathologic diagnosis. The introduction of digital pathology has enabled the acquisition of scanned slide images that are essential for the application of AI. The application of AI for improved pathologic diagnosis includes the error-free detection of potentially negligible lesions, such as a minute focus of metastatic tumor cells in lymph nodes, the accurate diagnosis of potentially controversial histologic findings, such as very well-differentiated carcinomas mimicking normal epithelial tissues, and the pathological subtyping of the cancers. Additionally, the utilization of AI algorithms enables the precise decision of the score of immunohistochemical markers for targeted therapies, such as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 and programmed death-ligand 1. Studies have revealed that AI assistance can reduce the discordance of interpretation between pathologists and more accurately predict clinical outcomes. Several approaches have been employed to develop novel biomarkers from histologic images using AI. Moreover, AI-assisted analysis of the cancer microenvironment showed that the distribution of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes was related to the response to the immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, emphasizing its value as a biomarker. As numerous studies have demonstrated the significance of AI-assisted interpretation and biomarker development, the AI-based approach will advance diagnostic pathology.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7433-7438
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• 2013

Aim: To identify new biomarkers for NPC diagnosis with an anti-EBV Western blot test kit. Methods: Serum samples from 64 NPC patients and healthy subjects with four specific VCA-IgA/EA-IgA profiles were tested with an anti-EBV Western blot test kit from EUROIMMUN AG. Proteins were quantified with scores of intensity visually assigned to the protein bands. The markers which showed statistical differences between the NPC and non-NPC subjects were further evaluated in another 32 NPC patients and 32 controls in comparison with established biomarkers including VCA-IgA, EA-IgA, EBV-related protein IgG, and EBV DNA. Results: Among the markers screened, EA-D p45-IgG showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between NPC and non-NPC subjects with VCA-IgA positivy. In 32 VCA-IgA positive NPC patients and 32 control subjects, the diagnostic accuracy of EA-D p45-IgG was 78.1% with a positive predictive value of 77.8% and a negative predictive value of 78.6%. In the verification experiment, the specificity and sensitivity of EA-D p45-IgG were 75.0% and 90.6 %, respectively. Conclusions: EA-D p45-IgG might be a potential biomarker for NPC diagnosis, especially among VCA-IgA positive subjects.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.113-125
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• 2018

Exosomes are membranous vesicles of 30-150 nm in diameter that are derived from the exocytosis of the intraluminal vesicles of many cell types including immune cells, stem cells, cardiovascular cells and tumor cells. Exosomes participate in intercellular communication by delivering their contents to recipient cells, with or without direct contact between cells, and thereby influence physiological and pathological processes. They are present in various body fluids and contain proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and microRNAs that can be transported to surrounding cells. Theragnosis is a concept in next-generation medicine that simultaneously combines accurate diagnostics with therapeutic effects. Molecular components in exosomes have been found to be related to certain diseases and treatment responses, indicating that they may have applications in diagnosis via molecular imaging and biomarker detection. In addition, recent studies have reported that exosomes have immunotherapeutic applications or can act as a drug delivery system for targeted therapies with drugs and biomolecules. In this review, we describe the formation, structure, and physiological roles of exosomes. We also discuss their roles in the pathogenesis and progression of diseases including neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. The potential applications of exosomes for theragnostic purposes in various diseases are also discussed. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the physiological and pathological roles of exosomes as well as their diagnostic and therapeutic uses, including emerging exosome-based therapies that could not be applied until now.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2020

Objective: In this study, specimens from testicular biopsies of men with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) were used to investigate whether RNF8 gene could serve as a biomarker to predict the presence of sperm in these patients. Methods: Testicular biopsy specimens from 47 patients were classified according to the presence of sperm (positive vs. negative groups) and investigated for the expression of RNF8. The level of RNF8 gene expression in the testes was compared between these groups using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: The expression level of RNF8 was significantly higher in testicular samples from the positive group than in those from the negative group. Moreover, the area under the curve of RNF8 expression for the entire study population was 0.84, showing the discriminatory power of RNF8 expression in differentiating between the positive and negative groups of men with NOA. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that RNF8 expression had a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 84%, with a cutoff level of 1.76. Conclusion: This study points out a significant association between the expression of RNF8 and the presence of sperm in NOA patients, which suggests that quantified RNF8 expression in testicular biopsy samples may be a valuable biomarker for predicting the presence of spermatozoa in biopsy samples.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.8
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• pp.287-291
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• 2019

Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a calcium- and zinc-binding protein of the S100 family, mainly expressed by neutrophils and released during inflammation. FC became an increasingly useful tool both for gastroenterologists and for general practitioners for distinguishing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from irritable bowel syndrome. Increasing evidences support the use of this biomarker for diagnosis, follow-up and evaluation of response to therapy of several pediatric gastrointestinal diseases, ranging from IBD to nonspecific colitis and necrotizing enterocolitis. This article summarizes the current literature on the use of FC in clinical practice.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.8
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• pp.427-428
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• 2015

Despite high interests on microenvironmental regulation of leukemic cells, little is known for bone marrow (BM) niche in leukemia patients. Our recent study on BMs of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients showed that the mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are altered during leukemic conditions in a clinical course-dependent manner. Leukemic blasts caused reprogramming of transcriptomes in MSCs and remodeling of niche cross-talk, selectively suppressing normal primitive hematopoietic cells while supporting leukemogenesis and chemo-resistance. Notably, differences in BM stromal remodeling were correlated to heterogeneity in subsequent clinical courses of AML, i.e., low numbers of mesenchymal progenitors at initial diagnosis were correlated to complete remission for 5-8 years, and high contents of mesenchymal progenitor or MSCs correlated to early or late relapse, respectively. Thus, stromal remodeling by leukemic cell is an intrinsic part of leukemogenesis that can contribute to the clonal dominance of leukemic cells over normal hematopoietic cells, and can serve as a biomarker for prediction of prognosis. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(8): 427-428]

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.1911-1915
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• 2012

Aim: New technologies for the early detection of pancreatic cancer (PC) are urgently needed. The aim of the present study was to screen for the potential protein biomarkers in serum using proteomic fingerprint technology. Methods: Magnetic beads combined with surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) TOF MS were used to profile and compare the protein spectra of serum samples from 85 patients with pancreatic cancer, 50 patients with acute-on-chronic pancreatitis and 98 healthy blood donors. Proteomic patterns associated with pancreatic cancer were identified with Biomarker Patterns Software. Results: A total of 37 differential m/z peaks were identified that were related to PC (P < 0.01). A tree model of biomarkers was constructed with the software based on the three biomarkers (7762 Da, 8560 Da, 11654 Da), this showing excellent separation between pancreatic cancer and non-cancer., with a sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 95.6%. Blind test data showed a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 91.4%. Conclusions: The results suggested that serum biomarkers for pancreatic cancer can be detected using SELDI-TOF-MS combined with magnetic beads. Application of combined biomarkers may provide a powerful and reliable diagnostic method for pancreatic cancer with a high sensitivity and specificity.