Efficient approaches for early detection of colorectal cancer offer opportunities to gain better treatment outcomes. Blood-based molecular biomarkers as DNA integrity index (DII) might represent a promising tumor marker in the future. The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical utility of the DII as a potential biomarker for colorectal cancer in 90 colorectal cancer patients, 30 patients with benign colorectal mass, and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. PCR was used to assess the concentration of both ALU115 and ALU247. DII was calculated as the ratio of Q247/Q115. DII was significantly higher in colorectal cancer patients than both patients with benign colorectal mass and healthy controls. ROC curve was plotted using DII and the best cut-off was ≥ 0.60 with diagnostic sensitivity 93.0%, specificity 65.0%, PPV 80.0%, NPV 86.0%, and efficiency 82% with AUC (0.872) while the best cut-off for CEA was ≥ 1.4 ng/mL with diagnostic sensitivity 87.0%, specificity 60.0%, PPV 76%, NPV 75%, and efficiency 76% with AUC (0.79). Our results suggest that DII is better than CEA as an early marker for colorectal cancer detection and may be used as a candidate biomarker for malignancy.

中文翻译：

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DNA完整性指数作为结直肠癌潜在的分子生物标志物

早期检测结直肠癌的有效方法为获得更好的治疗结果提供了机会。基于血液的分子生物标志物作为 DNA 完整性指数 (DII) 可能代表未来有希望的肿瘤标志物。本研究的目的是在 90 名结直肠癌患者、30 名良性结直肠肿块患者和 30 名年龄和性别匹配的健康对照受试者中评估 DII 作为结直肠癌潜在生物标志物的临床效用。PCR 用于评估 ALU115 和 ALU247 的浓度。DII 计算为 Q247/Q115 的比率。结直肠癌患者的 DII 显着高于良性结直肠肿块患者和健康对照组。使用 DII 绘制 ROC 曲线，最佳截止值为 ≥ 0.60，诊断灵敏度为 93.0%，特异性为 65.0%，PPV 为 80.0%，NPV 86.0%，效率 82%，AUC (0.872)，而 CEA 的最佳临界值≥ 1.4 ng/mL，诊断灵敏度 87.0%，特异性 60.0%，PPV 76%，NPV 75%，效率 76% AUC (0.79)。我们的结果表明，作为结直肠癌检测的早期标志物，DII 优于 CEA，并可用作恶性肿瘤的候选生物标志物。