Clinical diagnostic value of methylated SEPT9 combined with NLR, PLR and LMR in colorectal cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate clinical diagnostic values of mSEPT9 combined with NLR, PLR and LMR in CRC.

Methods: 329 subjects composed of 120 CRC patients, 105 polyps patients and 104 healthy participants were prospectively recruited. Clinicopathologic features were collected and analyzed. Plasma samples were collected for mSEPT9, NLR, PLR and LMR test. The sensitivity, specificity and AUC of each biomarker separately or in combination were estimated by the ROC curve.

Results: The levels of NLR, PLR and the PDR of mSEPT9 in CRC patients were significantly higher than those in non-CRC subjects, while LMR was the opposite. The PDR of mSEPT9 in CRC patients was significantly correlated with age, tumor size, tumor stage and M stage. ROC curve analysis demonstrated moderate diagnostic values of mSEPT9, NLR, PLR and LMR in CRC patients with AUC of 0.78 (Se = 0.68, and Sp = 0.89), 0.78 (Se = 0.68, and Sp = 0.83), 0.80 (Se = 0.68, and Sp = 0.81), and 0.77 (Se = 0.72, and Sp = 0.73), respectively. Moreover, combination of these four biomarkers dramatically enhanced the diagnostic accuracy of CRC (AUC = 0.92, Se = 0.90, and Sp = 0.87), especially for CRC patients with large tumors (AUC = 0.95) or distal metastasis (AUC = 0.95).

Conclusion: mSEPT9, NLR, PLR and LMR showed the potential to be reliable biomarkers for the diagnosis of CRC. And the combined application of these biomarkers further improved the diagnostic accuracy of CRC significantly.