Extracellular Vesicle Marker Identifies Early Lung Adenocarcinoma and Predicts Recurrence

Lung cancer remains a leading cause of cancer death, and early-stage disease often produces few symptoms, complicating timely diagnosis and risk stratification. Conventional imaging and tissue biopsy have limitations in identifying small lesions and forecasting recurrence. Liquid biopsy approaches that analyze small extracellular vesicles offer a minimally invasive way to address these gaps. New findings demonstrate a vesicle-derived protein signal that detects early-stage lung adenocarcinoma and informs prognosis.

At Korea University College of Medicine (Seoul, South Korea), investigators identified GRIP and coiled-coil domain-containing protein 2 (GCC2), packaged within small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) circulating in blood, as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for early-stage lung adenocarcinoma. sEVs are nanoscale particles secreted by cells that carry molecular information reflecting cellular characteristics and disease progression. The approach centers on quantifying sEV-associated GCC2 (sEV-GCC2) in plasma to support detection and postoperative risk assessment.

In a multicenter collaboration involving five hospitals in Korea, the team analyzed plasma samples from 470 individuals, including 150 healthy controls and 320 patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Analyses compared circulating sEV-GCC2 levels between groups and evaluated associations with clinical outcomes.

Circulating sEV-GCC2 levels were significantly higher in patients than in healthy individuals. The marker distinguished patients from controls with strong diagnostic performance, achieving an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.904. Elevated preoperative sEV-GCC2 concentrations were also linked to greater recurrence risk and recurrence-free survival outcomes, suggesting potential utility for postoperative risk stratification.

Complementary cellular and animal studies indicated that sEV-GCC2 may contribute to cancer cell proliferation, tumor growth, and lymph node metastasis. These findings suggest that GCC2 may be more than a diagnostic indicator and could represent a therapeutic target involved in lung cancer progression and aggressiveness. The study was published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles and involved collaboration across Korea University College of Medicine and five Korean hospitals, including Korea University Guro Hospital.

“This study demonstrates the potential of a blood-based biomarker for identifying early-stage lung cancer using clinical blood samples collected from multiple hospitals across Korea,” said Hyun Koo Kim, Professor of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Korea University Guro Hospital.

“We believe this biomarker could contribute to risk stratification and treatment planning both before and after surgery. Importantly, our findings also suggest that GCC2 may be involved in lung cancer progression and malignant transformation, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target. This opens opportunities for future research into GCC2-based targeted therapies for lung cancer,” added Kim.

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Korea University College of Medicine