Diagnostic usefulness of selected proteases and acute phase factors in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma

Table 1 Characteristics of patients with colorectal cancer

Number of patients with colorectal cancer	185
Age, median (age range)	63 (18-86)
Sex, n (%)
Men	98 (55)
Women	87 (45)
Anatomical location, n (%)
Colon	77 (42)
Sigmoid colon	37 (20)
Rectum	71 (38)
Histological differentiation of cells, n (%)
G1	8 (4)
G2	103 (56)
G3	74 (40)
Division of patients according to Dukes’ classification, n (%)
A	22 (12)
B	52 (28)
C	72 (39)
D	39 (21)
Number of patients in the control group	35
Age, median (age range)	61 (19-85)
Sex, n (%)
Men	19 (54)
Women	16 (46)

Table 2 Characteristics of the tested biochemical parameters in blood serum in all patients and in the control group

No.	Biochemical parameters tested	Groups	ABCD	K	Significance level P value
1	CB, mU/L	M	16.1	11.4	< 0.050
		n	185	35
		SD	8.8	6.5
2	LE, µg/L	M	875.1	379.1	< 0.001
		n	51	30
		SD	597.9	187.3
3	TSA, mg%	M	98.9	71.4	< 0.001
		n	71	31
		SD	30.8	15.1
4	LASA, mg%	M	0.68	0.69	NS
		n	68	35
		SD	0.33	0.28
5	ATA, U/mL	M	3211.4	2015.9	< 0.001
		n	74	29
		SD	1504.1	689.6

ABCD: All patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma; ATA: Antitrypsin activity; CB: Cathepsin B; K: Control group; LASA: Lipid-bound sialic acid; LE: Leukocytic elastase; M: Mean value; NS: Not significant; TSA: Total sialic acid.

Table 3 Characteristics of biochemical parameters in patients' blood serum in relation to the severity according to the Dukes’ classification

No.	Biochemical parameters tested	Groups	A	B	C	D	K	Significance level P value
1	CB, mU/L	M	19.9	15.4	16.8	15.5	11.4	NS
		n	22	52	72	39	35
		SD	19.3	9.4	8.4	7.6	6.5
2	LE, µg/L	M	386.1	929.9	602.1	1129.5	379.1	< 0.001
		n	5	16	15	15	30
		SD	190.2	637.5	389.6	651.7	187.3
3	TSA, mg%	M	67.8	100.8	92.9	107.2	71.4	< 0.001
		n	6	21	24	20	31
		SD	7.4	39.3	25.1	26.3	15.1
4	LASA, mg%	M	0.44	0.8	0.6	0.6	0.7	NS
		n	6	21	24	21	37
		SD	0.12	0.51	0.23	0.20	0.31
5	ATA, U/mL	M	3100.0	2925.0	3152.1	3576.2	2015.9	< 0.010
		n	2	21	24	21	29
		SD	424.3	1294.5	1684.7	1548.8	689.6

Dukes’ classification system for colorectal cancer: A, B, C, D: All patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma; ATA: Antitrypsin activity; CB: Cathepsin B; K: Control group; LASA: Lipid-bound sialic acid; LE: Leukocytic elastase; M: Mean value; NS: Not significant; TSA: Total sialic acid.

Table 4 Statistical analysis of differences in the activity or concentration of examined parameters in serum of patients with adenocarcinoma and the control group

Patients’ Groups
LE	A	B	C	D	K
A	NS	NS	NS	NS	NS
B	NS	NS	P < 0.05	NS	P < 0.001
C	NS	P < 0.05	NS	P < 0.002	P < 0.004
D	NS	NS	P < 0.002	NS	P < 0.001
K	NS	P < 0.001	P < 0.004	NS	NS
TSA	A	B	C	D	K
A	NS	NS	NS	NS	NS
B	NS	NS	NS	NS	P < 0.001
C	NS	NS	NS	NS	P < 0.003
D	P < 0.05	NS	NS	NS	P < 0.001
K	NS	P < 0.001	P < 0.003	P < 0.001	NS
ATA	A	B	C	D	K
A	NS	NS	NS	NS	NS
B	NS	NS	NS	NS	P < 0.02
C	NS	NS	NS	NS	P < 0.002
D	NS	NS	NS	NS	P < 0.001
K	NS	P < 0.02	P < 0.002	P < 0.001	NS

Significance levels of differences in the expected values of the analyzed biochemical parameters in patients divided into colorectal cancer patients (Dukes’ stage A, B, C, D) and control group (K). The values of statistical significance — P were provided. A, B, C, D: All patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma; ATA: Antitrypsin activity; K: Control group; LE: Leukocytic elastase; NS: Not significant; TSA: Total sialic acid.

Table 5 Statistical analysis of correlations between the biochemical parameters examined in blood serum in all patients

Studied parameters	CB, mU/L	LE, μg/L	TSA, mg%	LASA, mg%	ATA, U/mL
CB, mU/L					-0.24 (187), P < 0.001
LE, μg/L			0.37 (140), P < 0.001	0.17 (141), P < 0.05
TSA, mg%		0.37 (140), P < 0.001		0.19 (212), P < 0.01	0.33 (209), P < 0.001
LASA, mg%		0.17 (141), P < 0.05	0.19 (212), P < 0.006		-0.14 (210), P < 0.05
ATA, U/mL	-0.24 (187), P < 0.001		0.33 (209), P < 0.001	-0.14 (210), P < 0.05

Values of linear correlation coefficients between concentrations or activities of the studied biochemical parameters (number of the examined). Description of other parts as in Table 2. ATA: Antitrypsin activity; CB: Cathepsin B; LASA: Lipid-bound sialic acid; LE: Leukocytic elastase; TSA: Total sialic acid.