Brief Article
Copyright ©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 7, 2014; 20(5): 1332-1339
Published online Feb 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i5.1332
Evaluation of specific fecal protein biochips for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer
Hui-Peng Wang, Yang-Yun Wang, Jie Pan, Rong Cen, Yuan-Kun Cai
Hui-Peng Wang, Yang-Yun Wang, Jie Pan, Yuan-Kun Cai, Department of General Surgery, The 5th People’s Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University, Shanghai 200240, China
Rong Cen, Department of endoscopy, Shanghai Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200240, China
Author contributions: Cai YK was in charge of the research; Wang HP designed the study and analysed data; Wang YY and Cen R were in charge of collecting the specimen; Pan J analysed data.
Supported by The Government of Shanghai Minhang and The 5th People’s Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University
Correspondence to: Yuan-Kun Cai, MD, Associate Professor, Chief Surgeon of General Surgery, Department of General Surgery, The 5th People’s Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University, 801 Heqing Road, Shanghai 200240, China. yuankun@medmail.com.cn
Telephone: +86-21-64307611 Fax: +86-21-64307611
Received: August 5, 2013
Revised: October 10, 2013
Accepted: November 12, 2013
Published online: February 7, 2014
Abstract

AIM: To develop and initially test a potential fecal protein biochip for the screening of colorectal cancer (CRC).

METHODS: Fecal protein from 20 colorectal cancer patients and 20 healthy controls were extracted from all of the fecal samples and screened for proteomic differences using a Biotin label-based protein array. Candidate proteins were then verified by ELISA. Finally, we will select out the significant protein and a seven-target multiplex fecal protein biochip was generated and tested for 20 fecal samples to determine the effectiveness of the biochip on identifying CRC. And the value of the protein biochip would be discussed.

RESULTS: After tested by protein biochip of the fecal protein from 20 colorectal cancer patients and 20 healthy controls and levels of calprotectin, M2-pyruvatekinase, angiopoietin-2, fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23), proteins of the matrix metalloproteinase, thrombopoietin (TPO) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) were significantly different between CRC and healthy controls. The sensitivity of all the seven proteins combined was 0.7, specificity was 0.4, and area under the receiver operating characteristics was 0.729. The most promising combinations of test proteins were FGF-23, TPO, and IL-13, reaching a sensitivity of 0.7 and a specificity of 0.7. The combination of FGF-23 and TPO scored highest with sensitivity of 0.7 and specificity of 0.8. Its mean that the combination of FGF-23 and TPO has the highest value for the diagnosis of CRC in our study.

CONCLUSION: A protein biochip composed of proteins found to be elevated in the feces of colorectal cancer patients has great potential as a noninvasive diagnostic for colorectal cancer. The addition of new protein biomarkers and technologies, as they are discovered, is an excellent avenue of future research.

Keywords: Protein biochip, Feces, Colorectal cancer, Fibroblast growth factor-23, Thrombopoietin