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. 2018 Dec 6;9:616. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2018.00616

Table 1.

Serological biomarkers for lung cancer detection.

Biomarker Function Reference
Carcinoembryonic antigen Cell adhesion, regulation of signal transduction and innate immunity. Hammarstrom, 1999; Kuespert et al., 2006; Tiernan et al., 2013
Serum Amyloid A Synthesize several cytokines, bind and activate cell surface receptors and activate inflammasome cascade. Urieli-Shoval et al., 2000; Eklund et al., 2012
Haptoglobin β chain Immunomodulatory in nature which also shows hemoglobin-binding capacity and is α-sialoglycoprotein in an acute phase. Kang et al., 2011; Vanuytsel et al., 2013
Anti-insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-2 Modulates insulin-like growth factor actions by preventing its binding to the receptor along with regulation of growth hormone-stimulated growth, cell proliferation and adhesion. Polticelli et al., 2008; Shen et al., 2012
Complement component 9 proteins Forms pores on the membrane of pathogens. Also plays a role in inducing tolerance, destruction of apoptotic cells and clearance of immune complexes. Dudkina et al., 2016; Xiao et al., 2017
Endoglin Regulation of ALK1-dependent adhesive and proliferative effects. Lebrin et al., 2004; Koleva et al., 2006
Midkine Growth factor which plays a role in promoting growth, gene expression, migration, survival, reproduction, and repair. Maeda et al., 1999; Yoshida et al., 2001
Tissue Inhibitors of Metallo-proteinases Bind to the Matrix metalloproteinases and inactivate them. They also play a role in degradation of Extracellular Matrix. Lose et al., 2005; Louhelainen et al., 2010
Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor Regulates the initiation phase of blood coagulation by hindering factor Xa and the tissue factor/factor VIIa complex. Matrix metalloproteinase, plasmin, cathepsin G, trypsin, and plasma kallikrein are some of the enzymatic activities negatively regulated by Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor. Augustsson et al., 2014; Li et al., 2017
Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen Represses the natural killer cell induced apoptosis, stimulates synthesis of matrix metalloproteinase-9 production whereas suppression of squamous cell carcinoma antigen induces cell cancer invasion and relocation in disease expression of E-cadherin. Murakami et al., 2010; Catanzaro et al., 2011
Tumor M2- pyruvate kinase Extremely active tetrameric protein which on exposure to oncoproteins, converts to less active dimeric form which is an important step for tumor metabolism. Sithambaram et al., 2015; He et al., 2016
CYFRA 21-1 A cytokeratin-19 fragment which is used as a tumor marker. Okamura et al., 2013
C-reactive protein Produced during injury and employs anti-arthritic, anti-pneumococcal, anti-atherosclerotic, and anti-amyloidogenic functions as well. Salzberg et al., 2006; Thirumalai et al., 2017
Human Plasma Kallikrein Participates in inflammation and intrinsic blood coagulation system and also regulates vascular responses. Liu W. et al., 2016; Ottaiano et al., 2017
Methylated DNA Hallmark of cancer which occurs very early during cancer development. Fujita et al., 2014; Widschwendter et al., 2017
Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 Promotes adhesion, transendothelial migration and immunological synapse formation. de Paula et al., 2017; Marzolla et al., 2017
Pro gastrin releasing peptide A specific tumor marker. Mitogenic activity of proGRP has also been demonstrated. Shibayama et al., 2001; Oremek and Sapoutzis, 2003; Oh et al., 2016
Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor Plays a vital role in plasminogen activation and fibrinolysis. Also involved in cardiovascular diseases. Semina et al., 2016; Yousif et al., 2018
Progesterone Receptor Membrane Component 1 Essential for ovulation and viability of granulosa cells of preovulatory follicles. In vitro studies have shown its role in tumor proliferation. Peluso et al., 2008; Kowalik et al., 2016; Zhao et al., 2017
Matrix metalloproteinase 1 Plays a major role in inflammatory processes and extracellular matrix breakdown and has been associated with tumor invasion and metastasis. Sauter et al., 2008; Sousa et al., 2014
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule. Functions as a cell-cell adhesion molecule in order to maintain cell polarity. Also involved in the proliferation and differentiation. Used as a marker for stem/progenitor cells. Terris et al., 2010; Wen et al., 2018

CYFRA 21-1, Cytokeratin 19 fragments; ALK1, Activin-like kinase receptor 1.