Diagnostic and prognostic value of stem cell factor plasma level in glioblastoma multiforme patients

Background Investigation of novel blood‐circulating agents as potential biomarkers for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients’ diagnosis and monitoring has gained lots of attention, due to limitations of imaging modalities and invasive tissue biopsy procedures. The present study aims to assess the diagnostic and prognostic values of preoperative stem cell factor (SCF) plasma level in GBM patients. Methods Preoperative plasma samples from 58 GBM patients and 20 patients with nonglial tumors and 30 healthy controls were obtained. SCF levels were measured by employing the enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay test and the values were compared between these three groups. Then, the association of SCF plasma level and tumor volume, progression‐free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) for the GBM patients were evaluated. Results Mean preoperative SCF plasma level of the GBM patients (2.80 ± 1.52 ng/ml) was significantly higher (p
This study suggests that measurement of the SCF plasma level can aid in GBM patient's management for diagnostic purposes and as an efficient diagnostic plasma biomarker in patients with a new brain mass to differentiate between glioblastoma and nonglial tumors. However, this plasma biomarker does not exhibit prognostic value.