Published online May 27, 2023. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v15.i5.931
Peer-review started: March 13, 2023
First decision: March 28, 2023
Revised: March 29, 2023
Accepted: April 7, 2023
Article in press: April 7, 2023
Published online: May 27, 2023
Early diagnosis and early treatment are critical to improved colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis and treatment.
A noninvasive biomarker with high diagnostic performance is urgently needed for the early clinical diagnosis of CRC.
To evaluate the diagnostic value of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) 2, 7 and 9 for the early detection of CRC.
Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and urine MMP2, MMP7, and MMP9 levels were measured in 59 healthy controls, 47 patients with colon polyps and 82 patients with CRC. The independent and combined diagnostic values of the indicators for the detection of CRC were compared.
A model for CRC detection using CEA, MMP2, MMP7 and MMP9 exhibited an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.977. For early-stage and advanced-stage CRC, the model AUCs were 0.975 and 0.979, respectively. To distinguish the colorectal polyp patients from the CRC patients, the model using CEA, MMP7 and MMP9 levels produced an AUC of 0.849. For early-stage and advanced-stage CRC, the AUCs were 0.818 and 0.875, respectively.
Compared with CEA alone, the diagnostic performance of a model combining CEA, MMP2, MMP7 and MMP9 established in this study was significantly improved.
Validation of the model built in our study using a larger sample size should be performed.