CYFRA21-1 can predict the sensitivity to chemoradiotherapy of non-small-cell lung carcinoma

Background: The increasing panel of systemic therapies enables the individual management of lung cancer patients, even in advanced stages. However, predictive tools indicating the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) are badly needed. Aims: To determine the tumour markers for predicting the therapeutic effect in non-small-cell lung-carcinoma (NSCLC) patients treated with CRT. Methods: The serum levels of cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1 (CYFRA21-1), neurone-specific enolase (NSE) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were measured before CRT by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, while the tumour responses were assessed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) response criteria. The relationships between pretreatment expression of CYFRA21-1, NSE, CEA and the effectiveness of CRT were analysed. Results: The complete response (CR) rate of the primary tumours estimated by computed tomography in patients with high levels of CYFRA21-1 was 2.9% (2/68) while in cases with low CYFRA21-1 it was 20.3% (12/59) (p = 0.005). The effective rates (CR+PR) in CYFRA21-1 high and low groups were 52.9% (36/68) and 72.9% (43/59), respectively (p = 0.022). Conclusions: CYFRA21-1 may be a reliable surrogate marker of CRT efficacy in patients with NSCLC.