Serum CYFRA 21-1 Level as a Prognostic Marker for Extensive Disease Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background/aim: Pretreatment serum cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA21-1) level predicts outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer; however, little is known about the clinical value of serum CYFRA21-1 level in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of pretreatment serum CYFRA21-1 level in patients with extensive disease (ED)-SCLC treated using platinum-doublet chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the pretreatment serum CYFRA21-1 levels of patients with ED-SCLC who were treated using first-line platinum-doublet chemotherapy.

Results: A total of 98 patients were analyzed. The patients with a high CYFRA21-1 level (≥7.0 ng/ml) (n=29) had significantly shorter progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) than the patients with low CYFRA21-1 levels (n=67) [median PFS=118 days vs. 125 days, respectively (p=0.018); median OS=213 days vs. 295 days, respectively (p=0.046)]. In addition, high CYFRA21-1 level was associated with a high refractory relapse rate.

Conclusion: Serum CYFRA21-1 level may be a prognostic marker for patients with ED-SCLC treated with platinum-doublet chemotherapy.