Diagnosis of oesophageal cancer by detection of minichromosome maintenance 5 protein in gastric aspirates

Williams, G., Swinn, R., Prevost, A., de Clive-Lowe, P., Halsall, I., Going, J., Hales, C., Stoeber, K. and Middleton, S. (2004) Diagnosis of oesophageal cancer by detection of minichromosome maintenance 5 protein in gastric aspirates. British Journal of Cancer, 91(4), pp. 714-719. (doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6602028)

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Abstract

Symptomatic oesophageal cancer is usually advanced and the prognosis poor. Lethality of symptomatic oesophageal cancer has motivated screening for these diseases earlier in their evolution, but reliable methods for early diagnosis remain elusive. We have demonstrated that dysregulated expression of minichromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins 2-7 is characteristic of early epithelial carcinogenesis, and that these key DNA replication initiation factors can be used as diagnostic markers for cervical and genito-urinary tract cancer. In this study, we investigated whether minichromosome maintenance protein 5 (Mcm5) can be used to detect oesophageal cancer cells in gastric aspirates. Two monoclonal antibodies raised against His-tagged human Mcm5 were used in a time-resolved immunofluorometric assay to measure Mcm5 levels in cells isolated from gastric aspirates of 40 patients undergoing gastroscopy for suspected or known oesophageal carcinoma or symptoms of dyspepsia. The test discriminated with high specificity and sensitivity between patients with and without oesophageal cancer (85% sensitivity (95% confidence interval (CI)=62-97%), 85% specificity (CI=66-96%)), as demonstrated by the large area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (0.93 (95% CI=0.85-0.99)). Elevated levels of Mcm5 in gastric aspirates are highly predictive of oesophageal cancer. This simple test for oesophageal cancer is readily automated with potential applications in primary diagnosis, surveillance and screening.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Going, Dr James
Authors: Williams, G., Swinn, R., Prevost, A., de Clive-Lowe, P., Halsall, I., Going, J., Hales, C., Stoeber, K., and Middleton, S.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences
Journal Name:British Journal of Cancer
ISSN:0007-0920

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