Table 1. Serum levels of sEGFR, EGF, TGF-α and AR in NSCLC patients compared with levels in healthy donors.
| Serum | n | M±s.d. | Me | Range | Mann–Whitney U-test | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sEGFR | ||||||
| (ng ml−1) | Donors | 50 | 35.9±5.2 | 36.4 | 20.6–44.2 | |
| NSCLC | 25 | 25.5±4.5 | 25.3 | 19.4–40.1 | P<0.0001 | |
| EGF | ||||||
| (pg ml−1) | Donors | 45 | 917.4±245.9 | 946.7 | 382.3–1671.0 | |
| NSCLC | 25 | 294.3±298.2 | 196.6 | 0.0–952.4 | P<0.0001 | |
| TGF-α | ||||||
| (pg ml−1) | Donors | 44 | 6.0±4.2 | 6.2 | 0.0–14.5 | |
| NSCLC | 25 | 9.2±12.3 | 4.3 | 0.0–45.9 | NS | |
| AR | ||||||
| (pg ml−1) | Donors | 45 | 19.6±17.4 | 15.4 | 0.0–85.8 | |
| NSCLC | 24 | 17.2±19.4 | 14.6 | 0.0–74.8 | NS |
AR=amphiregulin; EGF=epidermal growth factor; NSCLC=non-small cell lung cancer; sEGFR=soluble epidermal growth factor receptor; TGF=transforming growth factor; M±s.d.=mean±standard deviation; Me=median; n=number of samples; NS=nonsignificant.