Distribution of serum Thrombospondin-2, a novel tumor marker, in general population and cancer patients in China

Purpose: Distribution of serum thrombospondin-2 in general population and cancer patients in China have not been reported. Methods: This study evaluated the expression level of serum thrombospondin-2 in general population and various cancer patients, the 95% confidence interval was used for the derivation of reference range. The comparison of the expression levels in controls for age and gender was performed. The associations between candidate biomarkers (thrombospondin-2 [THBS2]) expression and tumor metastasis status were also explored. Results: 125 healthy controls and 193 various cancer patients were enrolled. The mean +/- SD in serum THBS2 levels in general population was 42.37 +/- 12.24 ng/ml, there was no significant sex and age difference, the reference range is 18.37-66.36 ng/ml. Most cancer patients present a decreased serum THBS2 level except hepatoma and lymphoma which most patients showed a relatively high level of THBS2. There was no statistical difference of serum THBS2 level between metastasis and non-metastasis group in breast, lung, cervical, colorectal cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and hepatoma (P > 0.05) while a significant negative correlation was observed in ovarian cancer (P = 0.0209). Conclusions: The distribution of serum THBS2 displayed an obvious heterogeneity among various cancers comparing to health controls, ovarian cancer patients detected with low THBS2 expression may be more prone to develop metastasis in China.

Automated summary

The distribution of serum thrombospondin-2 (THBS2) displayed significant heterogeneity among various cancers compared to healthy controls in China. Most cancer patients showed decreased serum THBS2 levels, except for hepatoma and lymphoma patients who exhibited relatively high levels. Ovarian cancer patients with low THBS2 expression may have a higher risk of developing metastasis.