Clinical significance of serum IGFBP‐3 in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: IGF‐binding protein 3（IGFBP‐3）has previously been identified as tumor marker. The present study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of serum IGFBP‐3 in colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Serum was collected from 70 CRC patients and 50 healthy volunteer controls. Serum IGFBP‐3 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels were measured using electrogenerated chemiluminescence immunoassay and compared between groups. Relationships between serum IGFBP‐3 level and the clinical characteristics of CRC were also analyzed. A receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to investigate diagnostic efficacy of serum IGFBP‐3 and CEA, respectively, for CRC. Data were analyzed using SPSS 13.0. RESULTS: Serum IGFBP‐3 levels in CRC were lower than those of controls (4.68 [3.56, 5.77] vs 5.44 [4.77, 6.10] µg/mL, P < 0.05). Furthermore, serum IGFBP‐3 levels were higher in early cancer stages (I and II) than those of advanced stages (III and IV) (4.78 [3.92, 5.49] vs 3.77 [2.65, 4.59] µg/mL, P < 0.05). In addition, patients with lymph node metastasis absent had elevated serum IGFBP‐3 levels than those of patients with lymph node metastasis present (4.73 [3.92, 5.72] vs 4.11 [2.45, 4.83] µg/mL, P = 0.02). Finally, ROC curve indicated that serum IGFBP‐3 had a better diagnostic power for CRC than CEA. When serum IGFBP‐3 and carcinoembryonic antigen were used together to detect CRC, the AUC was 0.949, with a sensitivity of 75% and a specificity of 90%. CONCLUSIONS: Serum IGFBP‐3 might be a potential biomarker for CRC.