Elevation of Serum N-glycolylneuraminic Acid Glycoconjugates in Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer globally and a major contributor to cancer-related mortality. Implementation of screening programs in average-risk populations have reduced CRC-related mortality, despite the suboptimal sensitivity of currently used techniques. Novel screening methods with improved accuracy would be expected to further reduce CRC mortality. We previously developed a surface plasmon resonance-based assay that utilizes a N-glycolyl neuraminic acid (Neu5Gc)-specific lectin, SubB2M, to measure levels of Neu5Gc glycoconjugate cancer biomarkers in human serum. In this study, Neu5Gc glycoconjugate levels were measured in the serum of colorectal cancer patients (n=96) and compared to cancer-free controls (n=24). A significant increase in serum Neu5Gc levels was observed in patients at every stage of colorectal cancer when compared to the cancer-free control group ( P ≤ 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis of these data showed that the assay could distinguish colorectal cancer cases from healthy controls with a sensitivity of 93.75% and specificity of 79.17% and had an AUC of 0.8529. These findings reveal a correlation between serum Neu5Gc and colorectal cancer and highlight the potential for Neu5Gc glycoconjugates to be used as a serum biomarker for colorectal cancer. • Neu5Gc-containing glycans are associated with cancerous tissues and secretions • We previously developed SubB2M, a Neu5Gc-specific lectin • Our SubB2M-SPR assay can measure Neu5Gc glycoconjugate levels in serum • Serum Neu5Gc levels are elevated in colorectal cancer patients compared to controls • Serum Neu5Gc biomarkers have potential as colorectal cancer screening tools