Development of a serum biomarker panel predicting recurrence in stage I non–small cell lung cancer patients

Objective Molecular diagnostics capable of prognosticating disease recurrence in stage I non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients have implications for improving survival. The objective of the present study was to develop a multianalyte serum algorithm predictive of disease recurrence in stage I NSCLC patients. Methods The Luminex immunobead platform was used to evaluate 43 biomarkers against 79 patients with resectable NSCLC, with the following cohorts represented: stage I (T1 -T2 N0 M0 ) NSCLC without recurrence (n = 37), stage I (T1 -T2 N0 M0 ) NSCLC with recurrence (n = 15), and node-positive (T1 -T2 N1 -N2 M0 ) NSCLC (n = 27). Peripheral blood was collected before surgery, with all patients undergoing anatomic resection. Univariate statistical methods (receiver operating characteristics curves and log-rank test) were used to evaluate each biomarker with respect to recurrence and outcome. Multivariate statistical methods were used to develop a prognostic classification panel for disease recurrence. Results No relationship was found between recurrence and age, gender, smoking history, or histologic type. Analysis for all stage I patients revealed 28 biomarkers significant for recurrence. Of these, the log-rank test identified 10 biomarkers that were strongly ( P