A promising new antibody profiling technique offers a high degree of accuracy in the early diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer, a new U.S. study finds.Researchers at the University of Kentucky’s Chandler Medical Center in Lexington, Ky., analyzed 212 candidate markers and eventually narrowed that down to the five most predictive cancer-associated antibody proteins. Using these proteins, they were able to achieve over 90 percent accuracy in spotting cancerous and cancer-free samples from patients.Currently, only 25 percent of new lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage, when it’s possible to perform curative surgery, the researchers noted."Potential uses [of the screen] include early detection or screening, differentiation of benign from malignant disease, differentiating histologies, defining stages and responses to therapy, and defining prognosis,” lead researcher Li Zhong said in a prepared statement.The findings were reported in the November issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
