New research has identified a biomarker that may help to identify early lung cancer and increase survival.
Lung cancer remains the deadliest form of cancer in the United States, killing an estimated 158,000 people a year, more than the next four deadliest cancers combined. Screening guidelines and new therapies have only marginally improved lung cancer prognosis for patients; only about 17% survive 5 years after being diagnosed with the disease, and only 4% if their cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common form of the disease, accounting for an estimated 85% of all lung cancers. When NSCLC is detected early, patients’ likelihood of surviving longer than 5 years improves to over 70%. The identification of a new biomarker for lung cancer, reported in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, may help improve prognosis even further.
A team of South Korean researchers collected and tested lung cancer samples from 121 patients to determine whether the Huntingtin interaction protein-1 (HIP1) could be used as a potential new biomarker. They found that samples from patients with early stage disease expressed more HIP1 than those from patients with later stage disease. Additionally, the team also found that patients who had higher levels of HIP1 generally survived longer.
In further tests on mice, the researchers found that HIP1 suppresses cancer metastasis by inhibiting certain key pathways of cancer progression.
The team concluded that their results confirm HIP1 as a clinically meaningful biomarker of prognosis for lung cancer patients.
