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Background and Aim: Serum glycans are known to be good markers for the early diagnosis and prognostic prediction in many cancers. The aims of this study were to reveal the serum glycan changes comprehensively during the process of carcinogenesis from colorectal adenoma (CRA) to colorectal cancer (CRC) and to evaluate the usefulness of the glycan profiles as clinical markers for CRC. Methods: Serum samples were obtained from 80 histologically proven CRC and 36 CRA cases. The levels of glycans in the serum were examined with a comprehensive, quantitative, high‐throughput unique glycome analysis, and their diagnostic and prognostic abilities were evaluated. Results: Among 34 stably detected glycans, nine were differentially expressed between CRC and CRA. Serum levels of hybrid type glycans were increased in patients with CRC compared with those with CRA (P < 0.001), and both hybrid‐type and multi‐antennary glycans were significantly increased in advanced cancer cases. The glycan, m/z 1914, showed the highest diagnostic value among the decreased glycans, whereas m/z 1708 showed the highest among the increased glycans. The glycan ratio m/z 1708/1914 showed a higher area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.889) than any other single glycan or conventional tumor marker, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (0.766, P = 0.040) and carbohydrate antigen 19‐9 (0.615, P < 0.001). High m/z 1708/1914 was also correlated with an advanced cancer stage and short overall survival. Conclusion: Serum glycans, especially the m/z 1708/1914 ratio, were useful for the diagnosis, staging, and prognosis prediction of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Most of the modification of N-glycosylation reported in cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC) were based on the examinations of a small number of patients or particular proteins. The aim of this study is to reveal changes in whole serum N-glycan profiles systematically during the process of hepatocarcinogenesis and to elucidate their clinical application. Methods We analyzed sera from 105 patients with chronic hepatitis/liver cirrhosis ( CH/ LC) and age-/sex-matched healthy volunteers ( HLT), as well as from 114 patients with HCC. Serum N-glycan profiles were measured comprehensively by a new, quantitative, high-throughput method and compared with clinical parameters. Results The total amount of N-glycan expression was significantly higher in patients with CH/ LC than in HLT; however, no differences were observed between CH/ LC and HCC patients. In HCC patients, multi-antennary glycans with fucose residues, particularly m/z 3195, were increased compared with CH/ LC patients. The expression of m/z 3195 was high, especially in patients with a high number of intrahepatic lesions (>3), large tumor size (>3 cm), macroscopic vascular invasion or metastasis. The ratio of pairs of glycans on the same path of the biosynthesis pathway ( m/z 3195/1914) showed a higher area under the receiver-operator curve of 0.810 than any other single glycan to distinguish HCC from CH/ LC. Conclusion We demonstrate the full spectrum of the alterations of serum N-glycans comprehensively in patients with liver disease, and elucidate the possible use of glycans as novel biomarkers of liver disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]