BIOCHEMICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL ASPECTS IN LUNG CANCER
Bronchopulmonary cancer is a major public health problem, being one of the leading causes of cancer mortality worldwide. Late-stage detection, compounded by the biological heterogeneity of the malignancy, severely limits the available therapeutic options and worsens clinical outcomes. In this context, the identification and evaluation of accessible tumor biomarkers, such as CYFRA 21-1, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE), may have an important role in characterizing the disease and monitoring its evolution. The association of tumor markers with systemic inflammation parameters may provide additional information on the patient's biological status and prognosis. Regarding the biomarkers monitored, CYFRA 21-1 demonstrated the highest sensitivity in the patients included in the study (e.g., 42.87% of women and 33.75% of men) for monitoring tumor progression.