Diagnostic value of Cyfra21-1, SCC and CEA for differentiation of early-stage NSCLC from benign lung disease.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which account for the most of lung carcinoma, is sometimes difficult to differentiate from benign lung diseases presented with nodular shadow in imaging scan. There is a need to find another non-invasive way to diagnosis early-stage NSCLC. To examine the potential diagnostic value of SCC, CFYRA 21-1 and CEA for the differentiation of early-stage NCSCL from benign lung diseases, we analyzed serum levels of tumor markers in 278 patients, including 248 patients with NSCLC and 30 patients with benign lung diseases. These benign lung diseases were presented with evidence of a high likelihood of having lung cancer. After surgical operation, diagnosis of lung cancer and benign lung disease were confirmed by histological examination. Preoperative tumor marker levels were quantified. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare median levels of SCC, CFYRA 21-1 and CEA between the benign group and lung cancer group. Analysis of variance results were used for differences between different clinical stages of NSCLC. ROC was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of tumor markers. The median levels of Cyfra21-1, SCC and CEA were much higher in NSCLC than those in benign lung diseases. And we found that the mean levels of tumor marker were higher in advanced stage of NSCLC. The combination of tumor markers resulted in a higher sensitivity (91.3%) and a lower specificity (86.7%). In conclusion, the combination of positive SCC, positive CEA and positive Cyfra21-1 appear to be helpful in distinguishing early-stage NSCLC from benign lung disease which presented with suspicious pulmonary masses.