Carcinoembryonic antigen is the preferred biomarker for in vivo colorectal cancer targeting
Open Access
- 15 January 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in British Journal of Cancer
- Vol. 108 (3), 662-667
- https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.2012.605
Abstract
Background: Colorectal cancer-specific biomarkers have been used as molecular targets for fluorescent intra-operative imaging, targeted PET/MRI, and selective cytotoxic drug delivery yet the selection of biomarkers used is rarely evidence-based. We evaluated sensitivities and specificites of four of the most commonly used markers: carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), tumour-associated glycoprotein-72 (TAG-72), folate receptor-α (FRα) and Epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR). Methods: Marker expression was evaluated semi-quantitatively in matched mucosal and colorectal cancer tissues from 280 patients using immunohistochemistry (scores of 0–15). Matched positive and negative lymph nodes from 18 patients were also examined. Results: Markers were more highly expressed in tumour tissue than in matched normal tissue in 98.8%, 79.0%, 37.1% and 32.8% of cases for CEA, TAG-72, FRα and EGFR, respectively. Carcinoembryonic antigen showed the greatest differential expression, with tumours scoring a mean of 10.8 points higher than normal tissues (95% CI 10.31–11.21, P<0.001). Similarly, CEA showed the greatest differential expression between positive and negative lymph nodes. Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed CEA to have the best sensitivity (93.7%) and specificity (96.1%) for colorectal cancer detection. Conclusion: Carcinoembryonic antigen has the greatest potential to allow highly specific tumour imaging and drug delivery; future translational research should aim to exploit this.Keywords
This publication has 51 references indexed in Scilit:
- Pretargeted immuno-PET of CEA-expressing intraperitoneal human colonic tumor xenografts: a new sensitive detection methodEJNMMI Research, 2012
- Comparing two TAG-72 binding peptides previously identified by phage display as potential imaging agentsNuclear Medicine Communications, 2011
- Pretargeted Immuno–Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of Carcinoembryonic Antigen–Expressing Tumors with a Bispecific Antibody and a 68Ga- and 18F-Labeled Hapten Peptide in Mice with Human Tumor XenograftsMolecular Cancer Therapeutics, 2010
- Optical Molecular Imaging Approaches in Colorectal CancerGastroenterology, 2010
- Near-Infrared Fluorescence Labeled Anti-TAG-72 Monoclonal Antibodies for Tumor Imaging in Colorectal Cancer Xenograft MiceMolecular Pharmaceutics, 2009
- A new TAG-72 cancer marker peptide identified by phage displayCancer Letters, 2008
- Targeted killing of colorectal cancer cell lines by a humanised IgG1 monoclonal antibody that binds to membrane-bound carcinoembryonic antigenBritish Journal of Cancer, 2008
- Biodistribution and tumor imaging of an anti-CEA single-chain antibody–albumin fusion proteinNuclear Medicine and Biology, 2008
- Short-term endpoints of conventional versus laparoscopic-assisted surgery in patients with colorectal cancer (MRC CLASICC trial): multicentre, randomised controlled trialThe Lancet, 2005
- Impact of EGFR expression on colorectal cancer patient prognosis and survivalAnnals Of Oncology, 2005