Serum sAPRIL: A potential tumor-associated biomarker to colorectal cancer

Objective: The purpose of our study was to investigate the serum levels of soluble a-proliferation-inducing ligand (sAPRIL) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), benign intestinal disease and healthy volunteers and explore the potential possibility of sAPRIL severing as a CRC biomarker. Methods: Our investigation was conducted on 35 blood samples obtained from CRC patients, 32 blood samples from patients with benign intestinal diseases and 31 blood samples from healthy volunteers. The sAPRIL concentrations were examined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and data were analyzed with non-parametric Mann-Whitney U-test and X-2-test. The correlation relationship between sAPRIL and CEA, as well as sAPRIL and CA19-9 was assessed by non-parametric Spearmen's correlation test, respectively. Results: The median value of sAPRIL in the malignant group was 10.43 ng/mL, compared with those of the benign group (4.89 ng/mL) and control group (3.30 ng/mL), respectively, which had an obvious significance (P < 0.0003). Area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve for sAPRIL was 0.854 (95% CI, 0.776-0.933). The optimal cut-off level of sAPRIL was 5.49 ng/mL. Serum sAPRIL had a positive correlation with CEA (r = 0.637, P = 0.000) and CA19-9 (r =- 0357, P = 0.008) in 35 patients with colorectal cancer. sAPRIL showed higher sensitivity (82.9%) than those of CEA (743%) and CA19-9 (65.7%) in CRC, respectively. Conclusion: The results indicated that serum sAPRIL, as a potential biomarker, had a positive diagnostic value for colorectal cancer. (C) 2013 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.