Thrombospondin-2 (THBS2) is a secreted protein overexpressed in numerous cancers and may function as a diagnostic tumor marker. The objective of the present study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of serum THBS2 in early stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Serum THBS2 and Cyfra21-1 level were evaluated in blood samples of 112 patients from NSCLC groups and 51 healthy control (HC) groups. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the diagnostic significance. Serum THBS2 level was significantly up-regulated in NSCLC patients compared with healthy control subjects (P<0.0001), and the postoperative THBS2 level decreased significantly (P<0.0001). ROC curves analysis demonstrated that THBS2 was a comparable biomarker as Cyfra21-1 to distinguish early stage NSCLC or lung squamous cell carcinoma (SC) from healthy control subjects. And Cyfra21-1 was observed with significantly improved performances by the combination of THBS2 to distinguish early stage NSCLC (P<0.05) as well as SC (P<0.05) from the control subjects. In addition, THBS2 was estimated to perform well in the diagnosis of patients with Cyfra21-1-negative NSCLC (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.73). In summary, the present study suggested that serum THBS2 might be an early diagnostic biomarker for NSCLC.

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Purpose The underlying mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have not been fully investigated, and effective biomarkers for HCC are still needed to be explored. Therefore, our study sought to thoroughly examine the clinical significance and biological functions of the ribosomal protein L32 (RPL32) in HCC by coupling bioinformatic methods with experimental analysis. Methods To determine the clinical significance of RPL32, bioinformatic analyses were performed to examine RPL32 expression in HCC patient samples and to correlate RPL32 expression and HCC patient survival rates, genetic alterations, and immune cell infiltration. Cell counting kit‐8 assays, colony formation, flow cytometry, and transwell assays were performed to examine the effects of RPL32 on HCC cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion in HCC cell lines (SMMC‐7721 and SK‐HEP‐1) where RPL32 was silenced using small interfering ribonucleic acid. Results In the current study, we show that RPL32 was highly expressed in HCC samples. Moreover, high levels of RPL32 were associated with unfavorable outcomes in patients with HCC. Promoter methylation and copy number variation of RPL32 were associated with RPL32 mRNA expression. Results from the RPL32 silencing experiments indicated that the proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of SMMC‐7721 and SK‐HEP‐1 cells were attenuated upon RPL32 depletion. Conclusion RPL32 correlates with a favorable prognosis in patients with HCC and promotes the survival, migration, and invasion of HCC cells.