A blood-based biomarker panel combined with the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) risk model (PLCOm2012) can identify individuals at high risk for lethal lung cancer, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Ehsan Irajizad, PhD, and colleagues used data from an established model that combines fourmarker protein panel (4MP) with the PLCOm2012 assayed in prediagnostic sera from 552 lung cancer cases and 2,193 noncases from the PLCO cohort. Of those with lung cancer, 70% died. The cumulative incidence of lung cancer death and HRs were calculated based on the 4MP and PLCOm2012 risk scores at predefined 6-year risk thresholds of 1.0% and 1.7%. For risk prediction of lung cancer death, the area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve estimate of the 4MP plus PLCOm2012 model was 0.88. In those with 4MP plus PLCOm2012 scores above the 1.0% 6-year threshold, the cumulative incidence of lung cancer death was significantly higher. For test-positive cases, the corresponding subdistributional- and lung cancer death-specific HRs were 9.88 and 10.65, respectively.
