Diagnostic utility of adenosine deaminase in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for screening lung cancer in western Iran

Abstract

Background This study aimed to determine adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity as a possible screening tool in lung cancer patients. Blood samples were collected from 30 subjects with positive pathological tests and 62 patients with negative pathological tests as a control group. The enzymatic activity of total ADA and its isoenzymes was determined. tADA and ADA2 isoenzyme activity was significantly higher in cancerous patients compared to benign controls in serum and BAL fluid. Using a cut-off level of respectively 35.22 U/L and 31.80 U/L for BAL total ADA and ADA2, sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 81% for total ADA and 95% and 98% for ADA2. Conclusion Adenosine deaminase may play important roles in the pathophysiology of lung cancer and because of its might be considered as a useful screening tool among the other markers in lung cancer diagnosis.