Correlation Analysis Between Serum Cancer Biomarkers and Nutrition Index Score in Lung Cancer Patients

Abstract

This study investigates the correlation between serum cancer biomarkers and nutrition index scores in a retrospective analysis of 200 hospitalized lung cancer patients from March 2018 to March 2022. Benign pulmonary nodule patients (n = 50) and healthy subjects (n = 32) were randomly selected. The serum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), nerve-specific enolase (NSE), cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA21-1), squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA), and cancer antigen 125 (CA125) were measured using a nano-magnetic particle chemiluminescence method. The serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), albumin (ALB), total cholesterol, and peripheral blood lymphocyte count were analyzed using an automatic biochemical analyzer. Differential expression analysis was conducted to identify significant serum indexes in lung cancer patients. Based on the serum nutritional index level, controlling nutritional status (CONUT) scores were calculated for each patient and used to categorize them into high-score or low-score groups. The results demonstrated a significant increase in the expression levels of CEA, NSE, CYFRA21-1, SCCA, CA125, ALB, and ALP in patients diagnosed with lung cancer. Patients with higher CONUT scores were more susceptible to pulmonary infection and cancer pain and had higher CEA, NSE, CYFRA21-1, and ALP levels than those with lower scores. Regression analysis revealed a positive correlation between the CONUT score and the levels of CEA, NSE, and CYFRA21-1. Therefore, the increase in cancer biomarkers is related to the nutritional status of lung cancer patients, and a declining nutritional score can predict disease progression and assess lung cancer.