Krebs von den Lungen-6 associated with chest high-resolution CT score in evaluation severity of patients with interstitial lung disease.

The purpose of this prospective, single-center study was to measure the value of Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6), a kind of transmembrane mucoprotein, in diagnosing interstitial lung disease (ILD) and in assessing the severity of ILD. We enrolled 184 patients and 30 healthy controls. Ninety-eight patients were diagnosed with ILD, 47 with pneumonia, 19 with non-small cell lung cancer without ILD (NSCLC/non-ILD) and 20 with other lung diseases. Serum KL-6 levels, CT scores of high-resolution computerised tomography (HRCT) and pulmonary function in ILD patients were assessed. The mean value of serum KL-6 in patients with ILD, pneumonia, NSCLC/non-ILD, other lung diseases and healthy controls were 1000.67±882.73U/ml, 234.11±91.02U/ml, 269.95±149.23U/ml, 234.85±83.51U/ml and 189.03±55.50U/ml, respectively. Serum KL-6 levels of patients with ILD were significantly higher than that of other groups (P<0.000). The level of serum KL-6 in patients with pneumonia, NSCLC/non-ILD and other lung diseases was also statistically higher than healthy controls (P<0.05). When the cut-off value was 312U/ml, the sensitivity and specificity of KL-6 for the diagnosis of ILD was 84.7% and 85.3% respectively (AUC: 0.936, 95% CI: 0.906-0.965). The serum KL-6 levels in patients with ILD were significantly positively correlated with the CT scores (r=0.539, P=0.000) and negatively correlated with DLCO (r=-0.513, P=0.000). Serum KL-6 might be useful in the diagnosis of ILD, especially in the hard-to-diagnose cases, with high sensitivity and specificity. Furthermore, KL-6 might be a valuable marker for evaluation of ILD severity.

Qin H ，Xu XP ，Zou J ，Zhao XJ ，Wu HW ，Zha QF ，Chen S ，Kang Y ，Jiang HD ... -  《Pulmonology》

Elevated serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 in systemic sclerosis: a marker of lung fibrosis and severity of the disease.

Benyamine A ，Heim X ，Resseguier N ，Bertin D ，Gomez C ，Ebbo M ，Harlé JR ，Kaplanski G ，Rossi P ，Bardin N ，Granel B ... -  《-》

The value of serum Krebs von den lungen-6 as a diagnostic marker in connective tissue disease associated with interstitial lung disease.

Ma H ，Lu J ，Song Y ，Wang H ，Yin S ... -  《BMC Pulmonary Medicine》

Diagnostic Value of Krebs von den Lungen (KL-6) for Interstitial Lung Disease: A European Prospective Cohort.

Millan-Billi P ，Castellví I ，Martinez-Martinez L ，Mariscal A ，Barril S ，D'Alessandro M ，Franquet T ，Castillo D ... -  《-》

Analytical and Clinical Performance of the Nanopia Krebs von den Lungen 6 Assay in Korean Patients With Interstitial Lung Diseases.

Krebs von den Lungen 6 (KL-6) is a sensitive marker for diagnosing, monitoring, and predicting the prognoses of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the Nanopia KL-6 assay (Sekisui Medical, Tokyo, Japan) and to test the relationship between KL-6 concentrations and clinical results. In total, 230 patients diagnosed as having ILDs were enrolled. All underwent high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) followed by the pulmonary function test (PFT). We also enrolled 116 disease controls and 200 healthy controls. Evaluation of the Nanopia KL-6 assay involved determination of precision, linearity, and limit of quantification (LOQ). Results from the Nanopia KL-6 assay were compared with those from ELISA and correlated with the HRCT and PFT results. The within-laboratory precisions were <2% of CV, and linearity was acceptable between 52.2 and 4,966.5 U/mL. The LOQ was 45.2 U/mL. Nanopia and ELISA results were strongly correlated (r=0.979). The average concentration of KL-6 was greater in ILD patients (711.5 U/mL) than in the disease (168.4 U/mL) and healthy (209.4 U/mL) controls. Serum KL-6 concentrations were strongly and moderately correlated with the extent of lung involvement and presence of typical HRCT abnormalities, respectively, and moderately correlated with PFT parameters. The overall analytical and clinical performance of the Nanopia KL-6 assay was acceptable. Our study is the first to compare assay platforms and show correlations between KL-6 concentrations and HRCT or PFT results in Korean ILD patients.

Cho EJ ，Park KJ ，Ko DH ，Koo HJ ，Lee SM ，Song JW ，Lee W ，Lee HK ，Do KH ，Chun S ，Min WK ... -  《-》