Serum levels of HSP27, phospho-HSP27 (pHSP27) and HSP70 in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) diagnosed at an early (stages I-II, n = 37) or advanced (stages IIIA-IV, n = 72) stage were determined by using ELISA. Healthy smokers (n = 24), healthy never-smoker volunteers (n = 33) and COPD patients (n = 34) according to GOLD classification served as control population.<h4 class="h4">Resultsh4>
Serum levels of HSP27 were elevated in patients with NSCLC diagnosed at an early or advanced stage when compared with both healthy control groups (P < 0.005 and P < 0.0001 respectively). Statistically significant differences were furthermore found between the groups of patients with early vs. advanced stage NSCLC (P = 0.0021). Serum levels of HSP70 were also significantly elevated in patients with NSCLC diagnosed at an early or at an advanced stage when compared with either healthy control groups (P = 0.0028 and P < 0.0001 respectively). In univariate logistic regression models including healthy subjects and patients with NSCLC, HSP70 had an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.779 (P < 0.0001) and HSP27 showed an AUC of 0.870 (P < 0.0001).<h4 class="h4">Conclusionh4>
Our data suggest that serum HSP27 levels might serve as a possible tool to discriminate between early and advanced stages NSCLC.