Case Control Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Sep 15, 2024; 16(9): 3832-3838
Published online Sep 15, 2024. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v16.i9.3832
Clinical significance of peripheral blood UL16 and DR-70 for the early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of colorectal cancer
Zhi-Ping Zong, Chen Wu
Zhi-Ping Zong, Department of Blood Transfusion, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214000, Jiangsu Province, China
Chen Wu, Clinical Laboratory, Jiangsu Province Official Hospital, Nanjing 210003, Jiangsu Province, China
Author contributions: Zong ZP and Wu C designed the study; Zong ZP and Wu C analyzed the data; Zong ZP performed data collection and wrote the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardians provided written informed consent prior to their participation in this study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Chen Wu, BMed, Technician, Clinical Laboratory, Jiangsu Province Official Hospital, No. 65 Jiangsu Road, Gulou District, Nanjing 210003, Jiangsu Province, China. 15251848843@163.com
Received: July 15, 2024
Revised: August 13, 2024
Accepted: August 14, 2024
Published online: September 15, 2024
Processing time: 55 Days and 15.4 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Early diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) is of great significance to improve the survival rate and quality of life of patients, but early diagnosis of CRC requires more sensitive techniques. Peripheral blood UL16-binding protein 2 (ULBP2) and human fibrinogen degradation products (DR-70) are the main indicators for the diagnosis of malignant tumors.

AIM

To assess ULBP2 and DR-70 potential for the early diagnosis and prognostic evaluation of CRC to provide a reference.

METHODS

This study involved 60 patients with early-stage CRC (CRC group), 50 patients with benign colorectal tumors (benign group), and 50 healthy patients (control group) enrolled at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University and Jiangsu Province Official Hospital between January, 2020 and January, 2022. ULBP2 and DR-70 levels in the blood were determined and differences among the three groups and early diagnostic values for CRC were determined. Patients with CRC were divided into the good prognosis and poor prognosis groups, and ULBP2 and DR-70 levels in the blood and diagnostic values were compared.

RESULTS

ULBP2 and DR-70 serum levels were significantly higher in the CRC group than in the control and benign groups (P < 0.05); however, no significant differences were observed between the benign and control groups (P > 0.05). Among the 60 patients with CRC followed up for two years, two died (3.33%) and 15 exhibited tumor metastasis, progression, or recurrence (25.00%). ULBP2 and DR-70 serum levels were significantly higher in the poor prognosis group than in the good prognosis group (P < 0.05). A receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted. Area under the curve, sensitivity, and specificity of serum ULBP2 with DR-70 for the early diagnosis of CRC were higher than those of the single serum indices (P < 0.05) in both the good and poor prognosis groups.

CONCLUSION

ULBP2 and DR-70 serum levels were significantly high in patients with early-stage CRC. They improved the diagnostic rate of early-stage CRC and predicted patient prognosis, thereby showing clinical application potential.

Keywords: ULBP2; DR-70; Colorectal cancer; Early diagnosis; Prognosis

Core Tip: The combination of Peripheral blood UL16-binding protein 2 (ULBP2) and human fibrinogen degradation products (DR-70) can obviously improve the diagnostic value of early colorectal cancer (CRC), which is very important for the early diagnosis and treatment of CRC. This study confirmed the diagnostic value of serum ULBP2 and DR-70 levels in early CRC patients by observing their serum ULBP2 and DR-70 levels.