Expression and clinical significance of tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 1 in peripheral blood of patients with advanced lung cancer.

Background: To assess the serum level of tumor necrosis factor receptor related factor 1 (TRAF1) in advanced lung cancer patients and its clinical significance.

Methods: In this retrospective study, the serum level of TRAF1 in 50 patients with stage III-IV lung cancer and 50 healthy people who received physical examination during the same period were detected and compared. The differences in serum TRAF1 level in patients with lung cancer in terms of gender, age, smoking status, pathological type, tumor location, TNM stage and other clinicopathological features were analyzed. The 50 patients with lung cancer were treated with conventional chemotherapy for 2 cycles, and serum TRAF1 level was tested. The area under the curve (AUC) was calculated to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum TRAF1 for advanced lung cancer.

Results: The serum level of TRAF1 in lung cancer patients was significantly higher than that of healthy controls (P < 0.05). The serum level of TRAF1 in patients with stage IV lung cancer was significantly higher than that in patients with stage III lung cancer (P < 0.05). Serum level of TRAF1 in lung adenocarcinoma and lung squamous cell carcinoma group after chemotherapy was significantly lower than that before chemotherapy (P < 0.05); However, the serum level of TRAF1 in small cell lung cancer group after chemotherapy had no significant change compared with that before chemotherapy (P > 0.05). The AUC of serum TRAF1 for the diagnosis of lung cancer was 0.903, and the yoden index was 0.668. The best cut-off value of serum TRAF1 for the diagnosis of lung cancer was 113.87 pg/ml, with a sensitivity of 90.6% and a specificity of 78.57%.

Conclusion: Serum level of TRAF1 has potential diagnostic value for advanced lung cancer. TRAF1 could assist clinicians to diagnose lung cancer patient and assess patient's condition.