The Diagnostic Value of the Correlation between Serum Anti-p53 Antibody and Positron Emission Tomography Parameters in Lung Cancer

OBJECTIVE Mutations in the p53 gene are the most commonly observed genetic abnormalities in malignancies. The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic value of serum anti-p53 antibody (Ab) along with the correlation between serum anti-p53 Ab level and quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) parameters such as maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), SUVave, metabolic tumor volume, total lesion glycolysis (TLG) and tumor size. METHODS Serum anti-p53 Ab level was studied in three groups. Patients who underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) imaging for staging of previously diagnosed lung cancer constituted the first group, while patients who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging for evaluation of suspicious pulmonary nodules detected on thorax CT and did not show pathologic FDG accumulation (NAPN=pulmonary nodule with non avid-FDG) were enrolled in the second group. The third group consisted of healthy volunteers. RESULTS Twenty-eight patients with lung cancer (median age: 62.5, range: 39-77years), 28 patients with NAPN (median age: 65, range: 33-79 years), and 24 healthy volunteers (median age: 62, range: 44-74 years) were enrolled in the study. The serum anti-p53 Ab level was low in healthy volunteers while it was higher in both lung cancer patients and NAPN patients (p<0.05). When serum anti-p53 Ab level and PET parameters were evaluated, there was no significant correlation between serum anti-p53 Ab level and SUVmax, SUVave, TLG, tumor volume and tumor size of patients with lung cancer (p>0.05). Besides, there was no significant difference between serum anti-p53 Ab level and lesion size of NAPN patients (p>0.05). CONCLUSION It was determined that serum anti-p53 Ab levels are not significantly correlated with PET parameters, and that serum anti-p53 Ab levels increase in any benign or malignant lung parenchyma pathology as compared to healthy volunteers. These results indicate that this Ab cannot be used as a predictor of malignancy in a lung lesion.