Using Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 as a Biomarker for Detecting Progression of Different Types of Malignant Tumors

Aims Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 is a transmembrane glycoprotein closely related to tumorigenicity as well as tumor metastasis. It is also a well-known candidate for detecting tumors as a very common consequence of war-related symptoms. This study was designed to investigate the probability of using a cancer biomarker (VCAM-1) as an indicator for the progression of breast, lung, and bladder cancers. Materials & Methods This experimental study was conducted on 15 to 89 years-old patients who attended the Middle Euphrates cancer center and the breast disease clinic in AL-Sadder Medical City teaching hospital in Al-Najaf Province, Iraq, for a checkup from September 2020 to January 2021. Eighty-eight samples were selected by random sampling method; 22 patients for each breast, lung, and bladder cancer group and 22 healthy subjects as control. An Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was used to evaluate the concentration of VCAM-1. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison tests. Findings The means±SE of VCAM-1 levels in control, breast, lung, and bladder cancer groups were 42.29±3.928ng/ml, 58.12±2.357ng/ml, 66.81±4.307ng/ml, and 82.85±7.292ng/ml, respectively. Serum VCAM-1 levels increased significantly in all groups compared to the control group (p<0.05) except in breast cancer (p>0.05). There was a significant difference only between breast and bladder cancer groups (p<0.05). Conclusion The highest level of VCAM-1 is in the bladder cancer group; therefore, serum VCAM-1 can be used as an indicator for bladder cancer.