The role of preoperative serum levels for Dickkopf-related protein 1 as a potential marker of tumor invasion in patients with stage II and III colon cancer.

OBJECTIVES: To determine and correlate preoperative serum levels of CEA and Dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK-1) in stage II and III colon cancer and so identify the patients at high risk for early relapse. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 100 patients with stage II (n = 50; median age: 53 years, 31 males) and III (n = 50; median age: 57 years, 32 males) colon cancer and 50 controls (median age: 53.9 years, 25 males) were included. Serum levels for CEA and DKK-1 were recorded in each subject. RESULTS: Mean (SD) levels for serum CEA and DKK-1 were significantly higher in stage III patients than in stage II patients and controls (p < 0.001 for each). There was a significant correlation between serum levels of CEA and DKK-1 in stage II (r = 0.71, p < 0.001) stage III (r = 0.62, p < 0.001) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative serum levels for DKK-1 seem to be a potential marker in prediction of tumor invasion and relapse in stage II-III colon cancer.

Oncostatin-M as a novel biomarker in colon cancer patients and its association with clinicopathologic variables.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate preoperative serum oncostatin M (OSM) concentration as a diagnostic marker in colon cancer patients and its association with clinicopathologic variables. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Preoperative serum OSM concentrations were measured in 100 colon cancer patients and 70 healthy volunteers by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Serum OSM concentrations were significantly higher in colon cancer patients than in controls (p < 0.001). Serum OSM concentrations increased significantly with higher T stage (p < 0.001) and were significantly higher in patients with increased tumor burden, lymphovascular involvement, and lymph node and distant metastasis (p < 0.001 for each). CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that elevated OSM concentration was associated with colon cancer and its clinicopathologic variables, including invasion and metastasis. These findings indicate that serum OSM may serve as a novel biomarker in the diagnosis of colon cancer.