An optimal tumor marker group-coupled artificial neural network for diagnosis of lung cancer
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, ?2-microglobulin, gastrin, soluble interleukin-6 receptor, sialic acid, pseudouridine, nitric oxide, and some metal ions. 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. 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%. The ANN-based system may provide a rapid and accurate diagnosis tool for lung cancer.
tumor marker artificial neural network diagnosis lung cancer