The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of soluble fragment of cytokeratin 19 (CYFRA21-1) tests in detecting non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including squamous cell carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, and large cell carcinoma.
We examined CK19 expression in specimens from a total of 801 surgically resected samples of primary lung adenocarcinoma (ADC), squamous cell carcinoma (SQC), large-cell carcinoma (LCC), pleomorphic carcinoma (PC), large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC), small cell carcinoma (SCC), and carcinoid tumor (CT) as well as pleural malignant mesothelioma and lung metastatic deposits from breast cancer using tissue microarrays (TMAs) and whole sections.