The Clinical Significance of Tumor-associated Antigens in Dermatomyositis Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease

Objective To investigate the relationship between tumor related markers and the presence of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in dermatomyositis (DM) patients as well as potential serum markers for accompanied ILD. MethodsFifty-nine DM patients were included, including 30 patents with ILD. Serum level of anti-transcription intermediary factor1-γ (TIF1-γ) and tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) were detected to analyze the correlation of these markers with ILD. Meanwhile, the diagnostic value of these markers was evaluated by receive operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. ResultsWe found that there were 5 patients bearing malignancies, independent from the presence of ILD (P=0.024). Serum anti-TIF1-γ was positive in 4/5 DM patients with tumor, of which sensitivity and specificity were 36.36% and 97.92%, respectively. In contrast, only one case was found positive anti-TIF1-γ in 30 DM with ILD (P=0.002). carbohydrate antigen (CA)125, CA153, and cytokeratin-19 fragment (CYFRA21-1) were elevated in DM patients with ILD in compared to those without ILD. The area under curve (AUC) of CYFRA21-1 for the prediction of ILD was 0.745 (P=0.002). The optimal cut-off value was 3.58 ng/mL with a sensitivity of 60.71% and a specificity of 84.00%. The AUC in combination of CA125 and CYFRA21-1 could reach 0.801 (P<0.002) with a sensitivity of 64.29% and a specificity of 82.61%. ConclusionPresence of malignance and positive anti-TIF1γ could be the protective factors for ILD in DM. Elevated serum levels of CA125, CA153, CYFRA21-1 could indicate the accompanying ILD.