Increased serum levels of KiSS1-derived peptides in non-small cell lung cancer patient liquid biopsies and biological relevance.

Background: The secreted products of the metastasis suppressor gene may represent useful biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but their levels in patients have remained poorly investigated. We previously found that forced expression of decreased the invasive capability of NSCLC drug-resistant cells and a pro-apoptotic role for KiSS1 has been proposed in head and neck cancer. Thus, we designed a translational investigation including a pilot study to analyze KiSS1 levels in liquid biopsies, and experiments to explore the biological relevance of KiSS1 modulation.