Cell-surface-bound circulating DNA as a prognostic factor in lung cancer.

Since the mortality of lung cancer patients remains very high, development of prognostic methods essential for efficient therapy is an immediate task. This study was designed to assess the value of circulating DNA (cirDNA) in blood as a prognostic marker in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The average concentration of cirDNA in plasma was shown to be similar in healthy donors and lung cancer patients. However, the concentration of cell-surface-bound circulating DNA (csb-cirDNA) in lung cancer patients is significantly lower than that found in healthy donors (P < 0.0001) and correlates with a poor prognosis of tumor disease. Quantification of the cell-surface-bound DNA in blood of untreated patients allows persons with a poor prognosis of tumor disease to be detected with 94% sensitivity and 50% specificity.