Serum human epididymis protein 4 is associated with the treatment response of concurrent chemoradiotherapy and prognosis in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Aim

To investigate the role of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC) receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

Methods

A total of 218 patients with LA-NSCLC were enrolled. All patients underwent CRT. The treatment response to CRT was evaluated. The prognosis analysis was performed using relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival 1].

Results

Our data show that the serum HE4 can discriminate patients who respond well to CRT from those who respond poorly. Higher serum HE4 had dramatically increased risk of being non-responders to CRT. Serum HE4 level is also associated with prognosis of patients after CRT. Patients with high HE4 level had shorter RFS and OS compared to those with low HE4 level.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that serum HE4 may be a useful prognostic biomarker for LA-NSCLC patients who underwent CRT.