The roles of M30 and M65 in the assessment of treatment response and prognosis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, who receive neoadjuvant treatment

Aim of the study
To investigate the efficacy of evaluating prognosis and response to lung cancer treatment using M30 and M65 antigens, which are indicators of necrosis.

Material and methods
Forty-eight patients with lung cancer, who were planned to receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and 38 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Using M30 and M65 levels, cytokeratin 18 levels were measured twice: before and 48 hours after the first chemotherapy treatment. Apoptotic and total necrosis levels were determined by measuring the M65 and M30 levels.

Results
The M30 and M65 antigen levels in the patient group were significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.001). The M30 and M65 antigen levels were significantly higher 48 hours after the chemotherapy compared with before the chemotherapy (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in M65 levels between patients who responded to treatment and patients who progressed. The M30 levels increased significantly in patients with disease progression (p = 0.694 and p = 0.024, respectively). No significant differences in serum M30 and M65 antigen levels were found when compared between the surviving and deceased patients (p = 0.126 and p = 0.340, respectively).

Conclusions
A significant increase was detected in serum M30 and M65 levels in patients with lung cancer. There was a greater increase in serum M30 levels in patients who did not respond to the chemotherapy. This result gives rise to the thought that evaluating apoptosis and total necrosis through M30 and M65 measurements alone only in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy would be insufficient for specifying the effectiveness of the treatment.