Serum IgG N‐glycans enable early detection and early relapse prediction of colorectal cancer

• Published in: International journal of cancer Vol. 152; no. 3; pp. 536 - 547
• Main Authors: Gu, Yong, Duan, Bensong, Sha, Jichen, Zhang, Rongrong, Fan, Jiteng, Xu, Xiaoyan, Zhao, Huijuan, Niu, Xiaoyun, Geng, Zhi, Gu, Jianxin, Huang, Ben, Ren, Shifang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-02-2023; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adenoma; advanced adenomas; Biomarkers; Biomarkers, Tumor; Cancer; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal carcinoma; Colorectal Neoplasms - pathology; Differential diagnosis; Early Detection of Cancer - methods; early diagnostic biomarker; Glycosylation; Humans; IgG; Immunoglobulin G; Liquid chromatography; Medical research; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - diagnosis; N‐glycan; Polysaccharides; Population studies; Precancerous Conditions - diagnosis; IgG; N-glycan; advanced adenomas; colorectal cancer; early diagnostic biomarker
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.34298

Colorectal cancer (CRC) develops mainly from colorectal advanced adenomas (AA), which are considered precancerous lesions. Novel early diagnostic biomarkers are urgently needed to distinguish CRC and AA from healthy control (HC). Alternative glycosylation of serum IgG has been shown to be closely associated with CRC. We aimed to explore the potential of IgG N‐glycan as biomarkers in the early differential diagnosis of CRC. The study population was strictly matched to the exclusion criteria process. Serum IgG N‐glycan profiles were analyzed by a robust and reliable relative quantitative method based on ultra‐performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). Relative quantification and classification performance of IgG N‐glycans were evaluated by Mann‐Whitney U tests and ROC curve based on directly detected and derived glycan traits, respectively. Six and 14 directly detected glycan traits were significantly changed in AA and CRC, respectively, compared with HC. GP1 and GP3 were able to accurately distinguish AA from HC for early precancerous lesions screening. GP4 and GP14 provided a high value in discriminating CRC from HC. A novel combined index named GlycoF, including GP1, GP3, GP4, GP14 and CEA was developed to provide a potential early diagnostic biomarker in discriminating simultaneously AA (AUC = 0.847) and CRC (AUC = 0.844) from HC. GlycoF also demonstrated a superior CRC detection rate across CRC all stages and conspicuous prediction ability of risk of relapse. Serum IgG N‐glycans analysis provided powerful early screening biomarkers that can efficiently differentiate CRC and AA from HC.
What's new?
Improvements in the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) depend in part on the discovery of novel biomarkers capable of distinguishing between CRC and precancerous colorectal advanced adenomas (AA). Here, the authors investigated alternative glycosylation of serum IgG as a potential biomarker for discriminating AA and CRC from healthy subjects. Analyses show that certain glycan traits are significantly changed in AA and CRC. An index combining multiple glycan traits demonstrated superior CRC detection rate across disease stages and predicted risk of relapse. The findings describe a promising novel biomarker for the diagnosis and assessment of disease activity in CRC.