Survivin and livin are highly expressed in
cancer cells and transformed cells, but show little or no expression in normal differentiated tissues. Although human antibody responses to
cancer-associated
antigens have been detected, the response to livin has not yet been described in
lung cancer patients. We examined prevalence of anti-livin
antibodies in such patients with a specific
enzyme-linked
immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using
recombinant protein. Using a cutoff value for positivity determined as the mean absorbance +2S.D. for healthy control samples, 19 of 37
lung cancer patients (51.3%) were positive for anti-livin
antibodies. Of 31 samples from the same
lung cancer patients, 18 (58.1%) were positive for anti-
survivin antibodies. When sera from 31
lung cancer patients were assessed simultaneously by anti-
survivin and anti-livin ELISAs. Twenty-one patients (71%) were positive for
survivin, livin, or both. Intensity of anti-livin antibody responses did not correlate with intensity of anti-
survivin responses. Like anti-
survivin antibodies, anti-livin
antibodies, thus, can be detected in many
lung cancer patients. Testing for both
antibodies together may prove useful in detecting
lung cancer, but more extensive studies are needed to establish the clinical significance of anti-livin
antibodies.