The Clinical Utility of Serum CXCR-2 Assessment in Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Patients

Abstract

Background/Aim: The current study aimed to evaluate the clinical utility of the levels of the C-X-C-motif chemokine receptor-2 (CXCR-2) serum receptor in comparison to the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) tumor marker and -the C-reactive protein (CRP) inflammatory marker in the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Materials and Methods: Our study comprised 59 patients with CRC and 46 healthy subjects. Serum concentrations of the analyzed proteins were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay and immunoturbidimetric methods. Results: Serum levels of CXCR-2 were lower, while those of CEA and CRP were significantly higher in CRC patients in comparison to the control group. The diagnostic sensitivity of CXCR-2 was higher than that of CEA, and increased when CXCR-2 analysis was combined with CEA or CRP. Conclusion: According to our knowledge, this is the first study concerning the significance of CXCR2 as a CRC biomarker. Measurement of the serum levels of CXCR-2 may improve the diagnosis efficiency of CRC patients, especially in combination with the tumor marker CEA.

Circulating Biomarkers of Colorectal Cancer (CRC)—Their Utility in Diagnosis and Prognosis

“…Therefore, in our most recent studies we investigated whether serum CXCL-8 and its specific receptor (CXCR-2) may be used as potential biochemical tumor markers for CRC using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) method. We compared the diagnostic utility of serum levels of CXCL-8 and CXCR-2 with classical tumor markers (CEA) for CRC [22][23][24]. Our investigations revealed that serum concentrations of CXCL-8, similar to those of the classical tumor marker, were significantly higher in patients with CRC in comparison to healthy controls-the results are consistent with those obtained by other authors [62].…”

“…Furthermore, the infiltration of various immune cells, such as tumorinfiltrating leukocytes (TILs), various cytokines and tissue remodeling factors, has also been associated with cancer-related inflammation. Our previous original studies as well as some clinical investigations of other authors prove that selected circulating inflammatory mediators such as cytokines, including chemokines and hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs), specific inflammatory proteins such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and various matrix metalloproteinases, in particular gelatinases (MMP-2, MMP-9) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMP-1, TIMP-2), could be involved in the tumor development, proliferation, migration and angiogenesis of cancer cells (Figure 1), and may be considered potential candidates for novel biochemical markers for CRC (Table 1) [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Hematopoietic cytokines (HCs), also known as hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs), are small proteins that induce the differentiation and proliferation of hematopoietic progenitor cells.…”

“…Based on our results, we can conclude that serum CXCL-8 is a better candidate for a biochemical marker in the diagnosis of CRC than CEA, which is the marker currently used in routine clinical practice. As a continuation of our previous research, we investigated the clinical utility of the receptor specific for CXCL-8–CXCR-2 in CRC [ 22 , 23 ]. The serum levels of CXCR-2 were found to be lower, while those of CEA were significantly higher in patients with CRC in comparison to healthy controls.…”

“…Clinical significance of selected biomarkers in the diagnosis and progression of CRC[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”

Serum CXCL8 and Its Specific Receptor (CXCR2) in Gastric Cancer

“…Based on our knowledge, the present study is the first to compare the significance of these proteins in relation to the well-established tumor markers (CEA and CA19-9) and the marker of inflammation-C-reactive protein (CRP)-in the diagnosis and progression of GC. Moreover, the present paper is a continuation of our previous research, in which we assessed that serum concentrations of selected chemokines and their specific receptors might be used as potential tumor biomarkers for gastrointestinal malignancies, including pancreatic, esophageal and colorectal cancer [19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”