Affiliations: [a] Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt | [b] Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Hala Abdel Al Ahmed, Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, 11566 Cairo, Egypt. E-mail:hala1abdelal@yahoo.com
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Many researches aiming to explore the pathogenesis of
lung cancer have extensively studied the molecular alteration in such
disease. OBJECTIVE: In the present study we measured the blood E2F3
mRNA using real-time RT-PCR technique in order to evaluate its clinical
significance in early diagnosis and monitoring of lung cancer. METHODS: This case-control study included 50 lung cancer patients,
20 patients with benign lung diseases and 20 healthy controls. Relative
quantification of blood E2F3 mRNA was done by real-time RT-PCR. RESULTS: Blood E2F3 mRNA levels were significantly higher in lung
cancer patients when compared to either patients with benign lung diseases
or healthy subjects. This elevation was significant in those with metastatic
lung cancer as compared to those with localized lung cancer. At
a cutoff^{(2-Δ Δ CT)}
1.5, blood E2F3 mRNA was able to distinguish
malignant from benign lung conditions with a diagnostic sensitivity of
100%; while at a cutoff^{(2-Δ Δ CT)} 5.3, blood E2F3 mRNA
discriminated localized from metastatic lung cancer with a sensitivity of
93.6%. CONCLUSIONS: Blood E2F3 mRNA is a sensitive diagnostic marker in
lung cancer; moreover, it is a promising prognostic marker capable of
efficiently discriminating early from late stages of the disease.
Keywords: E2F3, cyclin dependent kinase, lung cancer, RT-PCR, Rb protein
