What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to explore the relationship between serum endocan levels and severity of coronary stenosis in NSTEMI patients.

June 6, 2026Open Access

Serum endocan levels in non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction patients

Key Points

This study aims to explore the relationship between serum endocan levels and severity of coronary stenosis in NSTEMI patients.
Prospective observational study involving 81 NSTEMI patients undergoing coronary angiography.
Patients classified into clinically significant and non-significant coronary stenosis groups.
Serum endocan levels and inflammation parameters measured at admission.
Clinically significant stenosis group had significantly higher endocan levels (p < 0.001).
Inflammatory parameters (CRP, WBC, NLR) were also elevated in the significant stenosis group (p < 0.001).
Endocan emerged as an independent predictor of clinically significant stenosis with a high AUC of 0.826 in ROC analysis.

Abstract

Background Endothelial dysfunction and inflammation play a key role in the pathophysiology of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Endocan has emerged as a novel biomarker reflecting endothelial activation. Objective To investigate serum endocan levels in patients with non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and their association with coronary stenosis severity. Methods This prospective observational study included 81 NSTEMI patients undergoing coronary angiography. Patients were classified into clinically significant coronary stenosis and non-significant coronary stenosis groups. Serum endocan levels were measured at admission. Results Patients who underwent coronary angiography ( n = 81) were divided into two groups as those with clinically significant coronary stenosis ( n = 40) and non-significant coronary stenosis ( n = 41). Serum endocan levels were significantly higher in the group with clinically significant coronary stenosis ( p 0.001). Mean age and body mass index (BMI) were higher and statistically significant in the group with clinically significant coronary stenosis ( p = 0.038, p = 0.042). Inflammation parameters C-reactive protein (CRP), White Blood Cell (WBC) and Neutrophil Lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were higher in the group with clinically significant coronary stenosis ( p 0.001, p = 0.011, p = 0.038). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, endocan ( p 0.001, 95% CI: 1.010–1.035), BMI ( p = 0.020, 95% CI: 1.070–2.237), and CRP ( p = 0.039, 95% CI: 1.003–1.099) were independently associated with clinically significant coronary stenosis. In Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis performed to discriminate between patients with and without clinically significant coronary stenosis, the endocan cut-off value was determined as 393.1 ng/L p 0.001, The Area Under the Curve (AUC) = 0.826, 95% CI = 0.732–0.919, Likelihood Ratio + = 7.65, LR - = 0.28. Conclusion Endocan levels are elevated in NSTEMI patients with clinically significant coronary stenosis and may reflect endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerotic burden.

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Cite This Study

Melekoğlu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a23b91b71a5da9775e750f7 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2026.1783106

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