Meaning of the DR-70™ Immunoassay for Patients with the Malignant Tumor

Comparison of the serum fibrin-fibrinogen degradation products with cytokeratin 19 fragment as biomarkers in patients with lung cancer

Lung cancer is one of the main causes of cancer-related mortality. The identification of early diagnostic biomarkers improved outcomes for lung cancer patients. Serum fibrin-fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) levels are elevated in numerous malignancies due to hemostatic alterations. The serum FDP levels were compared to the levels of cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen (CYFRA 21-1), another well-established biomarker. The serum samples from 193 lung cancer patients, 84 healthy controls and 106 patients with benign respiratory diseases were obtained. The serum FDP level was measured using the DR-70 immunoassay and the CYFRA 21-1 level was measured by electrochemiluminescence using the Roche Analytics E170. Receiver operating characteristics curves were used to assess the predictive sensitivity and specificity. The mean serum FDP level in lung cancer patients (35.01±229.02 μg/ml) was significantly higher compared to the 190 non-cancerous subjects (0.60±0.75 μg/ml; P=0.039). The mean serum CYFRA 21-1 level in lung cancer patients (4.50±6.67 ng/ml) was also significantly higher compared to the non-cancerous subjects (1.40±0.83 ng/ml; P<0.05). FDP exhibited clinical sensitivity and specificity of 86 and 75%, respectively, at an optimal cut-off at 0.67 μg/ml. CYFRA 21-1 exhibited clinical sensitivity and specificity of 77 and 74%, respectively, at a cut-off of 1.65 ng/ml. The serum FDP area under the curve (0.87) was slightly higher compared to CYFRA 21-1 (0.83). Therefore, it is apparent that serum FDP is comparable to CYFRA 21-1 as a lung cancer biomarker and can be used for clinical practice.

Advantages of the AMDL-ELISA DR-70 (FDP) assay over carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) for monitoring colorectal cancer patients

The DR-70® (FDP) test was the first cancer test cleared by USFDA for monitoring colorectal cancer (CRC) since Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) in 1982. Conservatively, 50% of biopsy-positive CRC patients have negative CEA values. DR-70 and CEA values were compared for 113 CRC monitoring patients. Total concordance rates for DR-70 and CEA were 0.665 and 0.686, respectively. CRC patient pairs were grouped based on their CEA value to deduce DR-70's effectiveness at monitoring patients with low CEA values. DR-70 had 12% to 100% greater positive concordance rates than CEA in this group. DR-70 is a welcome new option for CRC patients.