Expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins in the exfoliated cells supplement sputum cytology in the diagnosis of lung cancer

Q: What is the main objective of the study?

To detect and classify cancerous cells in sputum by assessing expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCM2 and MCM7), and to evaluate their biomarker potential and links to clinicopathological features.

Q: What were the key diagnostic findings for MCM2 and MCM7?

Immunoexpression of both markers was confined to nuclei of malignant cells. MCM7 showed the highest sensitivity (92%) with AUC 0.961, while MCM2 had sensitivity of 80% with AUC 0.901.

Sep 21, 2026

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Sputum cytology is evaluated as a simple, noninvasive approach to lung cancer diagnosis, focusing on whether expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins MCM2 and MCM7 can detect and classify cancerous cells. The study applies immunocytochemistry to sputum cell blocks (n=97) and analyzes sensitivity, specificity, and relationships with clinicopathological features. Results show nuclear immunoexpression limited to malignant cells, with significant correlations to tumor cytology and stage for MCM7. MCM7 attains the highest diagnostic sensitivity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Objective

Material and Methods

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[https://www.cytojournal.com/](https://www.cytojournal.com/) CytoJournal Editor-in-Chief: Miaoqing Zhao, PhD., MD (Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China) He Wang, MD, PhD (Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA) Founding Editor & Editor-in-chief Emeritus: Vinod B. Shidham, MD, FIAC, FRCPath (WSU School of Medicine, Detroit, USA) Research Article Expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins in the exfoliated cells supplement sputum cytology in the diagnosis of lung cancer Neeraja Panakkal, MSc1,2, Asha Lekshmi, PhD1, Jagathnath Krishna K. M., PhD3, Veena Vemadevan Saraswathy, PhD4, Kunjuraman Sujathan, PhD1 1Division of Cancer Research, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, 2Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, 3Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Regional Cancer Centre, 4Division of Pathology, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. *Corresponding author: Kunjuraman Sujathan, Division of Cancer Research, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. [ksujathan@gmail.com](ksujathan@gmail.com) Received: 26 June 2024 Accepted: 28 November 2024 Published: 31 December 2024 DOI 10.25259/Cytojournal_ 115_2024 Quick Response Code: Supplementary material available at: [https:dx](https:dx). [doi.org/10.25259/](doi.org/10.25259/)[ ](doi.org/10.25259/)Cytojournal_ 115_2024 ABSTRACT Objective: Sputum cytology is recognized as a straightforward and noninvasive way to diagnose lung cancer, although its clinical utility has not yet been investigated. The objective of the study was to detect and classify cancerous cells in sputum by examining their expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCM2 and MCM7). In addition, the study attempted to evaluate these proteins’ potential as biomarkers of lung cancer lesions and their relationships with clinicopathological characteristics. Material and Methods: MCM2 and MCM7 expression in sputum samples was evaluated using immunocytochemistry in sputum cell blocks (n = 97), and their correlation with clinicopathological features was examined. Diagnostic performance was evaluated as a function of sensitivity and specificity. Results: Immunoexpression of MCM2 and MCM7 was confined to the nuclei of malignant cells alone, suggesting its potential as a differential diagnostic marker. They showed significant correlations with tumor cytology (P < 0.001), while MCM7 alone exhibited a significant correlation with tumor stage (P = 0.014) . The overexpression of these markers was notably pronounced in lung adenocarcinoma compared to other subtypes. In terms of characterizing malignant cells, MCM7 protein demonstrated the highest sensitivity at 92% with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.961, whereas MCM2 had a sensitivity of 80% and AUC of 0.901. Conclusion: This study presents the inaugural use of MCM7 immunocytochemistry on exfoliated cells in sputum samples, proposing that analyzing immunocytochemical markers in sputum could serve as a cost-effective approach for diagnosing lung cancer. Integrating these assessed markers into routine cytopathology laboratories could augment traditional morphological evaluations, thereby improving the sensitivity of sputum cytology. Keywords: Lung neoplasms, Minichromosome maintenance proteins, Sputum, Immunocytochemistry INTRODUCTION Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with approximately 2.2 million new cases and 1.8 million deaths reported in 2020.[1] It represents a group of heterogeneous entities in terms of histology and molecular profile. [2] Primary lung cancers are classified into two main histological types: Non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), representing 85% and 15% of all cases, respectively. NSCLC This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non CommercialShare Alike 4.0 License, whi

FAQs

What is the main objective of the study?

To detect and classify cancerous cells in sputum by assessing expression of minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCM2 and MCM7), and to evaluate their biomarker potential and links to clinicopathological features.

How were MCM2 and MCM7 expressions measured?

MCM2 and MCM7 expression in sputum samples was evaluated using immunocytochemistry on sputum cell blocks (n=97), and correlations with clinicopathological characteristics were analyzed.

What were the key diagnostic findings for MCM2 and MCM7?

Immunoexpression of both markers was confined to nuclei of malignant cells. MCM7 showed the highest sensitivity (92%) with AUC 0.961, while MCM2 had sensitivity of 80% with AUC 0.901.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Valentina