Detection of malignant pleural effusions by tumor marker evaluation

Diagnostic Potential of Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Ferritine in Tuberculous and Malignant Pleural Effusion

The aim of the study was to determine the diagnostic value of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and ferritine in malignant and tuberculous non-bloody pleural effusion. The etiology of diseases was determined by cytologic, histologic and microbiologic methods. CEA concentration above 5 ng/ml and ferritine concentration above 200 ng/ml were considered to be positive. There was significant difference in the value of CEA measured in malignant and in tuberculous pleural effusion (P < 0.005) as well as in the sera (P < 0.01) of these two groups. There was no correlation between concentration of CEA and ferritine in malignant pleural effusion. Ratio between CEA and ferritine in effusions and sera was of no help in discrminating malignant from tuberculous effusions. No correlation between examined markers and physical status of patients was observed. The sensitivity and specificity of CEA assay in malignant pleural effusion was 65% and 90%, respectively, and for ferritine 67% and 80%, respectively. A high correlation was observed between the CEA concentration in malignant pleural effusion and sera patients (r = 0.95). Combined sensitivity and specificity of CEA and ferritine was 65.9% and 85%. Bayes theorem was used to calculate the positive predictive values for CEA and ferritine, which were 53% and 37%, respectively. Results obtained in the study show the relatively good diagnostic potential of CEA.

Tumour Associated Antigens CA 15.3 and CA 125 in Ovarian Cancer

CA 125 and CA 15.3 antigens were determined by enzyme immunoassay in 78 patients with ovarian cancer for a total of 540 determinations. The antigens were also investigated in sera from 100 women with other gynaecological diseases, 82 lung cancer patients and in 39 pleural fluids of varying origin. CA 15.3 reference values were evaluated in 91 healthy women (cut-off: 25 U/ml). CA 15.3 sensitivity at diagnosis (60%) and for detecting relapse (44%) was lower than that of CA 125 (90% and 64,7%, respectively). However, CA 15.3 does not increase with aspecific mesothelial cell reaction and thus it is more specific than CA 125. Combined use of the markers during follow-up improves early detection of relapse (at least one of the two was positive in 79%, of cases). Therefore both CA 15.3 and CA 125 should be routinely determined for the detection and monitoring of ovarian cancer.

Evaluation of predictive value of pleural CEA in patients with pleural effusions and histological findings: A prospective study and literature review

OBJECTIVES

Pleural effusion recognizes heterogeneous etiology and pathogenesis and requires invasive diagnostic procedures. Usually, after pleural fluid analysis, 30-50% of patients with malignant pleural effusion exhibit negative pleural cytology, and the sensitivity of image-guided pleural needle-aspiration biopsy ranges between 60% and 70%. With the aim of differentiating between benign (BPE) and malignant (MPE) pleural effusions, several tumor markers have been assayed in the pleural fluid and the majority of studies focus on pleural carcinoembryonic antigen (p-CEA). The aims of this study were to evaluate (i) the diagnostic accuracy of p-CEA of patients with pleural effusions undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for diagnostic purpose, (ii) the relationship between p-CEA and serum CEA (s-CEA), and (iii) the usefulness of the p-CEA/s-CEA ratio in the diagnosis of malignant pleural effusions (MPE).

DESIGN & METHODS

We prospectively enrolled in the study 134 consecutive patients with pleural effusions, scheduled for having VATS and biopsy. The final diagnosis, based on histopathology of the VATS-guided specimens, was available for all patients. p-CEA and s-CEA was assayed with a chemiluminescence immunoassay method (CLIA), applied on the Maglumi 2000 Plus automated platform (SNIBE, Shenzen, China).

RESULTS

The sensitivity and accuracy of p-CEA was significantly higher than that of pleural cytology at the same specificity comparing BPE with MPE and BPE with non-small lung cancer. The sensitivity of p-CEA and PC together reached 100% (BPE vs. NSCLC) and 91.5% (BPE vs. MPE excluding mesothelioma), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The p-CEA measurement in patients with pleural effusion of uncertain etiology is a safe and cost-effective procedure, everywhere easily available, which may help clinicians in selecting patients for further evaluations. An elevated p-CEA level in a patient with pleural effusion and negative pleural cytology suggests the need of more invasive procedure (e.g. VATS-guided biopsies), whilst low p-CEA may support a follow-up.

Reactive oxygen metabolites can be used to differentiate malignant and non-malignant pleural efffusions

OBJECTIVE:

Increase in reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) and free radicals is an important cause of cell injury. In this study, we investigated whether determination of ROM in pleural fluids of patients with malignant and non-malignant pleural effusions can be used as a tumor marker indicating malignant effusions in the differential diagnosis.

METHODS:

Sixty subjects with exudative pleural effusion and 25 healthy individuals as the control group were included in the study. Of the subjects with pleural effusion, 50% were malignant and 50% were non-malignant. ROM was studied in the pleural fluids and sera of the subjects with pleural effusion and in the sera of those in the control group. The ROM values of smokers and non-smokers were compared in each group. The Student’s t-test and the Mann-Whitney U test were used in order to detect differences between groups for descriptive statistics in terms of pointed features. The statistical significance level was set at 5% in computations, and the computations were made using the SPSS (ver.13) statistical package program

RESULTS:

It was determined that the difference between the ROM values of subjects with malignant and non-malign pleural effusions and the sera of the control group was significant in the malignant group compared to both groups (P = 0.0001), and the sera ROM values of patients with non-malignant pleural effusion were significant compared to the control group (P = 0.0001), and the ROM values of smokers were significant compared to non-smokers in each of the three groups (P = 0.0001).

CONCLUSION:

These findings indicate that sera ROM levels are increased considerably in patients with exudative effusions compared to that of the control group. This condition can be instructive in terms of serum ROM value being suggestive of exudative effusion in patients with effusions. Furthermore, the detection of pleural ROM values being significantly higher in subjects with malignant pleural effusions compared to non-malignant subjects suggests that ROM can be used as a tumor marker in the differential diagnosis of pleural effusions of unknown origin.

Diagnostic value of carcinoembryonic antigen in malignant pleural effusion: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Conventional tests are not always helpful in making a diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion (MPE). Many studies have investigated the utility of pleural carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the early diagnosis of MPE. The present meta-analysis determined the accuracy of CEA measurement in the diagnosis of MPE.

METHODS

A systematic review of English language studies was conducted and data on the accuracy of pleural CEA concentrations in the diagnosis of MPE were pooled using random effects models. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to summarize the overall test performance.

RESULTS

Forty-five studies met the inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis. The summary estimates for CEA in the diagnosis of MPE were: sensitivity 0.54 (95% CI: 0.52-0.55), specificity 0.94 (95% CI: 0.93-0.95), positive likelihood ratio 9.52 (95% CI: 6.97-13.01), negative likelihood ratio 0.49 (95% CI: 0.44-0.54) and diagnostic odds ratio 22.5 (95% CI: 15.6-32.5). Analysis of a subset of 11 studies which examined the value of pleural CEA in ruling out a diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma found that the sensitivity and specificity of a CEA level exceeding cut-off values were 0.97 (95% CI: 0.93-0.99) and 0.60 (95% CI: 0.55-0.65), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Measurement of pleural CEA is likely to be a useful diagnostic tool for confirming MPE, and is also helpful in the differential diagnosis between malignant pleural mesothelioma and metastatic lung cancer. The results of CEA assays should be interpreted in parallel with clinical findings and the results of conventional tests.

Clinical value of CYFRA21-1, NSE, CA15-3, CA19-9 and CA125 assay in the elderly patients with pleural effusions

The aim of this study was to evaluate the individual and combined diagnostic value of five tumour markers in the elderly patients with pleural effusions. Serum and pleural fluid levels of cytokeratin fragment 19 (CYFRA21-1), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA15-3), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) were assayed in 32 elderly patients with malignant pleural effusions resulting from advanced lung cancer and in 30 elderly patients with benign pleural effusions by ELISA. Serum levels of CYFRA21-1, NSE, CA15-3, CA19-9 and CA125 in patients with malignant pleural effusions were 12.84 +/- 6.48 microg/l, 22.07 +/- 11.25 microg/l, 65.74 +/- 30.26 kU/l, 56.32 +/- 25.6 kU/l and 71.86 +/- 31.45 kU/l, respectively, and were significantly higher than those in patients with benign pleural effusions (p < 0.01). Pleural fluid levels of CYFRA21-1, CA15-3, CA19-9 and CA125 except NSE in patients with malignant pleural effusions were 18.64 +/- 8.15 microg/l, 59.31 +/- 27.35 kU/l, 48.24 +/- 21.56 kU/l and 62.16 +/- 27.79 kU/l, respectively, and were significantly higher than those in patients with benign pleural effusions (p < 0.01). The parallel combined testing of five tumour markers in serum increased the diagnostic sensitivity to 90.6%, and serial combined testing increased the diagnostic specificity to 93.3%. The sensitivity (%) and specificity (%) of these tumour markers in pleural fluid were as follows: CYFRA21-1, 84.4/90; CA15-3, 62.5/73.3; CA19-9, 37.5/66.7; CA125, 56.3/70; for differentiating malignant effusions from benign effusions. When CYFRA21-1 and CA15-3 combined, the sensitivity and specificity were increased (100% and 90% respectively). Serum and pleural fluid levels of the five tumour markers shows certain values in the diagnosis and differentiate diagnosis for malignant pleural effusions in the elderly patients from benign. The combined assay of five tumour markers in serum and the CYFRA21-1 combined with CA15-3 in pleural fluid were helpful and can increase the sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing malignant pleural effusions.

Diagnostic value of CYFRA 21-1, CEA, CA 19-9, CA 15-3, and CA 125 assays in pleural effusions: analysis of 116 cases and review of the literature

Levels of tumor markers in pleural effusions may help to establish the diagnosis of pleural malignancy, but the precise diagnostic value of each marker remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of five common pleural fluid tumor markers, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cytokeratin fragment (CYFRA) 21-1, cancer antigen (CA) 15-3, CA 19-9, and CA 125, and to review the literature from the past 15 years. Pleural fluid samples were collected prospectively from 116 patients and assayed for CEA, CYFRA 21-1, CA 15-3, CA 19-9, and CA 125 levels. A MEDLINE search of the English-language literature from the past 15 years was also done. Effusions were classified as benign or malignant on the basis of their definitive pathologic or cytologic diagnoses. The levels of all pleural tumor markers were statistically significantly higher in the malignant group than in the benign group. The marker with the highest accuracy was CEA (85.3%); CA 15-3, CYFRA 21-1, and CA 19-9 had similar accuracies (75.2%, 72.4%, and 71.5%, respectively), and CA 125 had the lowest accuracy (40.5%). On univariate analysis, tumor-marker combinations did not result in a greater accuracy than that of CEA alone. On multivariate logistic regression, CA 15-3 and CYFRA 21-1 were significant predictors of malignancy. Among the nine reports in the literature comparing 11 different tumor markers, CEA, CA 15-3, and CYFRA 21-1 yielded the best results. We conclude that pleural fluid analysis should include CEA for the diagnosis of malignancy. CA 15-3 and CYFRA 21-1 may serve as alternative options.

The beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin lacks specificity for malignant cells in serous effusions

The cytologic diagnosis of malignancy is frequently straightforward. For difficult cases, multiple immunostains and immunostain panels have been investigated without consensus. beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) has been reportedly expressed in malignancies, but not in normal tissue. HCG also has been reported as a specific marker of metastases in serous fluids when detected with laboratory assays. We investigated the clinical utility of hCG in this cytologic setting. A total of 97 cases of benign and malignant effusions were studied. Each case was immunostained with monoclonal hCG using the avidin-biotin technique and diaminobenzidine as a chromogen. Additionally, a mucicarmine stain was performed on most cases. Cases were evaluated for hCG expression and mucin in a blinded fashion. After the cases were reviewed, the diagnoses were unblinded and staining patterns were evaluated. Of the 47 benign cases studied, 23 (49%) exhibited immunoreactivity to hCG in at least 5% of mesothelial cells present. In contrast, 28 of 44 (64%) adenocarcionomas exhibited a similar degree of immunostaining. In all, 21 (48%) of the adenocarcinomas were also positive for mucin; five of these mucin-positive cases were negative for hCG. The combination of mucin and hCG detected 33 of 44 (75%) adenocarcinomas. We conclude that hCG lacks the specificity for malignant cells to be of clinical use in effusion cytology.

Diagnostic value of CEA, CA 15-3, CA 19-9, CYFRA 21-1, NSE and TSA assay in pleural effusions

The aim of this study was to evaluate the individual and combined diagnostic utility of six tumor markers in patients with pleural effusion. Pleural and serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), cytokeratin fragment 19 (CYFRA 21-1), neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and total sialic acid (TSA) were assayed in 74 patients with pleural effusions (44 malignant and 30 benign). All tumor markers except TSA and NSE were increased in both serum and pleural fluid of patients with malignant diseases. Using the cut-off values 3 ng/ml, 14 U/ml, 5 U/ml, 8 ng/ml and 70 mg/dl for pleural fluid CEA, CA 15-3, CA 19-9, CYFRA 21-1 and TSA, respectively, the sensitivity (%) and specificity (%) of these tumor markers were as follows: CEA; 52/77, CA 15-3; 80/93, CA 19-9; 36/83, CYFRA 21-1; 91/90, TSA; 80/67, for differentiating malignant effusions from benign. When CA 15-3 and CYFRA 21-1 combined, the sensitivity and specificity were increased (100 and 83%, respectively). Classifying the malignant effusions as bronchial carcinoma and malignant pleural mesothelioma, CEA was shown to have the highest sensitivity and specificity (88 and 90%, respectively) while the combination of CEA with other tumor markers increased sensitivity but decreased specificity. According to our results, tumor markers are not suitable for the differential diagnosis of malignancy.

Improvement of the diagnosis of the cause of pleural effusion in patients with lung cancer by simultaneous quantification of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) pleural levels

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) level determinations were carried out by radioimmunoassay in pleural fluid and plasma samples obtained from 24 patients with malignant pleural effusions and 18 patients with non-malignant pleural effusions, and compared to cytological and pathological results. Using a pathological cut-off level of 25 ng/ml for CEA and 8 ng/ml for NSE, we demonstrated that, in the diagnosis of the malignant nature of pleural effusions, the simultaneous quantification of CEA and NSE in pleural fluid possesses better discriminative values than the simultaneous quantification of both markers in plasma or the separate quantification of each marker, in pleural fluid and in plasma.