The study identifies HAVCR1 as a tool for earlier detection and treatment monitoring for primary central nervous system lymphoma.
A new study identified hepatitis A virus cellular receptor 1 (HAVCR1) as a biomarker that could simplify the diagnosis of rare and aggressive forms of brain and eye cancer.
The findings, published in the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) journal Clinical Chemistry, suggest the biomarker could help physicians make treatment decisions sooner and provide clinical laboratories with a new tool to track treatment response and detect relapse.
Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare cancer that affects the brain, spinal cord, and eyes. While cases have increased over the last five decades, the diagnostic accuracy of current methods—measuring interleukin (IL) levels—is limited to approximately 80% to 90%.
Patients with primary vitreoretinal lymphoma (PVRL), a form of PCNSL confined to the eyes, face significant diagnostic hurdles. PVRL frequently mimics uveitis, and the scarcity of cells often limits testing. Consequently, diagnosis is often delayed by up to two years. Because PVRL carries a 60% to 90% risk of progressing to intracranial PCNSL, early diagnosis is essential to reducing the risk of neurological complications and death, according to the release.
To identify a more effective biomarker, researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, analyzed eye fluid and cerebrospinal fluid samples from 199 patients with PVRL and PCNSL and 179 patients with noncancerous conditions.
The study showed that HAVCR1 levels were significantly higher in patients with these lymphomas. In eye fluid samples from patients with PVRL, HAVCR1 achieved a diagnostic accuracy of approximately 92% to 100%. In cerebrospinal fluid from patients with PCNSL, accuracy reached 97% to 99%.
HAVCR1 also accurately distinguished lymphoma from uveitis, outperforming commonly used markers such as IL-10 and IL-6. Additionally, HAVCR1 levels dropped after successful treatment and remained high in patients who did not respond, suggesting the biomarker is also useful for monitoring treatment response.
“HAVCR1 is a robust fluid-based biomarker for PCNSL and PVRL and has been validated in multiple cohorts and sample types,” the researchers say in the study.
Further analysis indicated that HAVCR1 is produced primarily by the tumor cells, which increases its reliability as a cancer-specific marker. While more research is needed to ensure reproducibility across laboratories, the biomarker is considered a promising candidate for clinical use.
“Its superior diagnostic accuracy compared with existing cytokine assays, together with its dynamic responsiveness to treatment, highlights its dual value in both diagnosis and disease monitoring,” the researchers say in a release.
ID 29168235 © Bjorn Hovdal | Dreamstime.com
