Abstract
BACKGROUND: Primary lung cancer is one of the most prevalent malignant tumours in China. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly malignant, undifferentiated tumour prone to metastasis and is usually diagnosed in its middle or late stages. Pro-gastrin-releasing peptide precursor (ProGRP) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) tumour markers are recommended in the literature for early diagnosis. Objective: The purpose of this research is to probe the diagnostic value and therapeutic efficacy of serum levels of ProGRP and NSE in SCLC to enhance the level of clinical diagnosis. METHODS: A total of 84 SCLC patients who were admitted to our hospital from December 2022 to March 2024 were included in the SCLC group. The NSCLC group consisted of 45 patients diagnosed with NSCLC, while the benign lung disease group consisted of 57 patients diagnosed with non-cancerous lung conditions. Furthermore, the healthy control group comprised 60 healthy individuals. The serum levels of ProGRP and NSE were compared across all four groups. RESULTS: The SCLC group exhibited considerably elevated serum ProGRP and NSE levels compared to the healthy control group, benign lung disease group, and NSCLC group (P< 0.05). ProGRP and NSE values were higher in limited-stage SCLC than in extensive-stage SCLC (P < 0.05). The ROC curve displayed that the critical value of ProGRP for diagnosing SCLC was 136.49 pg/mL, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.869, the sensitivity attained 80.00%, and the specificity reached 84.87%, indicating a better diagnostic efficacy than that of NSE (P< 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The tumour markers ProGRP and NSE levels are of paramount significance for the clinical diagnosis and staging of SCLC patients. ProGRP is a more specific and sensitive tumour marker for SCLC than NSE and can be employed as an auxiliary diagnostic tool for SCLC. Thus, it is worth promoting ProGRP in a clinical setting.