• Tao Gu, Zongmei Wen, Shufeng Xu, Haixia Hua, Zhi Zhang, Tao Wen, Zhanzhao Fu, and Xin Lv.
• Department of Oncology, First Hospital of Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei Province, P.R. China.
• Afr Health Sci. 2014 Jun 1; 14 (2): 356-63.

BackgroundAn early differentiation of malignant from benign solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) is essential for management and prognosis of lung cancer.ObjectivesHere we investigated whether measurement of circulating sex hormones could be useful for an early detection of malignancy among patients with SPNs.MethodsWe recruited 47 patients with malignant SPNs 45 patients with benign SPNs, and 32 healthy persons. Testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone were measured. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as well as TNF-α, IL-1 and IL-6 were also measured.ResultsWe found that sex hormones were decreased significantly in patients with malignant SPNs, as compared to patients with benign SPNs and healthy controls (P<0.05). Sex hormones levels showed a trend to decline in patients with benign SPNs as compared to normal controls, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). CEA levels were only abnormally elevated in eight patients with lung adenocarcinoma. The inflammatory cytokines were remarkably higher in both patients than in normal controls. However, there was no statistical difference in these cytokines among patients.ConclusionsThe reduced sex hormones levels seemed to be uniquely associated with lung cancer. Therefore, measurement of sex hormones may have clinical potential in the diagnosis of malignancy in patients with SPNs.

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