Purpose: Circulating autoantibodies have been extensively investigated as possible markers for early diagnosis of cancer. The present study was carried out to investigate whether anti-LGALS3BP IgG autoantibodies could be classified as a biomarker for malignant tumors.
Methods: An in-house developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect autoantibodies to LGALS3BP in sera from 71 patients with various types of cancers and 54 healthy subjects matched by age and gender.
Results: Patients with cancer have significant higher circulating levels of anti-LGALS3BP antibodies as compared to control subjects (P < 0.001). The test has a sensitivity of 33% and a specificity of 98%.
Conclusions: Anti-LGALS3BP IgG autoantibodies are a promising biomarker for malignant tumors and could play a role in the development of a multimarker assay for the early detection of cancer.