BACKGROUNDTo evaluate the significance of progastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP) as a new tumor marker for small cell lung cancer (SCLC)..

METHODSFifty-five patients with pathologically proved SCLC were initially treated and retrospectively studied, in which the level of serum ProGRP was tesed in various situations and its relationship with tumor stage and therapeutic effects was observed.

RESULTSThe diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of ProGRP to SCLC were 80.0% and 97.0% respectively. The average ProGRP level in extensive disease of SCLC patients was 820.00 ng/L, significantly higher than 205.86 ng/L in limited disease of SCLC patients (P=0.000 3). In chemotherapy sensitive cases, the ProGRP level had a significant decrease after treatment, while there was no change in failure cases.

CONCLUSIONSProGRP is a new SCLC tumor marker with high specificity and sensitivity. It has a close relationship with SCLC stage and can be used as a predictor of SCLC to chemotherapy response.