A novel screening test for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: sirtuin-3.

OBJECTIVE Human sirtuin-3, a protein involved in the mediation of tumors, has been shown to be present in malignancies. The goal of this study was to measure serum sirtuin-3 levels in esophageal squamous cancer cells and to determine whether sirtuin-3 may possess predictive value in advanced cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS A total of 130 ESCC patients and 50 healthy control subjects participated to the study. Serum sirtuin-3 levels for all 180 subjects were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS Median sirtuin-3 levels were significantly higher in patients with ESCC than in the control subjects. CONCLUSIONS The presence of considerably elevated levels of sirtuin-3, could be a powerful mediator of advanced ESCC in ESCC patients, suggests that sirtuin-3 may be a useful indicator of the disease.