An optimal tumor marker group-coupled artificial neural network for diagnosis of lung cancer

Background: Epidemiological statistics has shown that there are approximately 1.2 million new cases of lung cancer diagnosed every year and the death rate of these patients is 17.8%. Earlier diagnosis is key to promote the five-year survival rate of these cancer patients. Some tumor markers have been found to be valuable for earlier diagnosis, but a single marker has limitation in its sensitivity and specificity of cancer diagnosis. To improve the efficiency of diagnosis, several distinct tumor marker groups are combined together using a mathematical evaluation model, called artificial neural network (ANN). Lung cancer markers have been identified to include carcinoembryonic antigen, carcinoma antigen 125, neuron specific enolase, beta(2)-microglobulin, gastrin, soluble interleukin-6 receptor, sialic acid, pseudouridine, nitric oxide, and some metal ions.

Methods: These tumor markers were measured through distinct experimental procedures in 50 patients with lung cancer, 40 patients with benign lung diseases, and 50 cases for a normal control group. The most valuable were selected into an optimal tumor marker group by multiple logistic regression analysis. The optimal marker group-coupled ANN model was employed as an intelligent diagnosis system.

Results: We have presented evidence that this system is superior to a traditional statistical method, its diagnosis specificity significantly improved from 72.0% to 100.0% and its accuracy increased from 71.4% to 92.8%.

Conclusions: The ANN-based system may provide a rapid and accurate diagnosis tool for lung cancer. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.