ELISA Kits for Cancer Marker Detection

Cancer biomarkers are proteins and other biomolecules present in the blood, body fluids, or tissues that are directly associated with tumors and cancer progression. Such markers have been widely used in identifying the development of cancers, determining cancer aggressiveness, and monitoring response to treatments. Cancer markers can be routinely and reliably measured using the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) method. The advantages of using ELISA kits are highlighted below.

Advantages of ELISA kits for measuring cancer markers

ELISA kits utilize antibodies that are specific and sensitive to their target antigens, capable of detecting very low concentrations of biomarkers. This sensitivity allows users to accurately quantify markers at concentrations as low as the picogram per milliliter range. Quantitative analysis is crucial for studying early-stage cancer formation and evaluating the effectiveness of treatments.

Compared to other immunodetection methods like flow cytometry or Western blotting, ELISA kits are relatively fast and simple to perform. Kits come pre-packaged with all the necessary supplies and reagents and can be analyzed using standard plate readers. ELISA kits generally accommodate a wide range of sample types, including plasma, serum, culture extracts, and other bodily fluids. As a plate-based assay, ELISA kits can also be adapted into high-throughput workflows, which are ideal for large-scale cancer marker studies.

Common cancer markers for ELISA detection

A number of well-studied cancer biomarkers are actively used in screening, risk-assessment, diagnosis, treatment prediction, and monitoring of specific cancers. In addition, other studies seek to discover or evaluate new biomarkers. Some examples are highlighted below:

• Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an established marker for prostate cancer, is an enzyme produced by both normal and malignant cells of the prostate gland.¹

• Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a known biomarker, as well as a therapeutic target in cancers like colorectal and lung cancer.^1,2

• HER2 is a biomarker and therapeutic target for breast and gastric cancer. Encoded by the ERBB2 gene, HER2 is a member of the human epidermal growth factor receptor family. ¹

• Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) is used as a marker for monitoring disease recurrence and progression for cancers including colorectal cancer and breast cancer.¹

• Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a cancer stem cell marker useful for determining the prognosis and monitoring therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.³

Cancer stem cell markers, found on cancer cells that initiate tumor formation, growth, and metastasis, are also used to study and distinguish distinct cancer cell types. Some markers are common to a wide variety of tumor types (“inclusive markers”), whereas others are more specific (“exclusive markers”). This Guide to Cancer Stem Cell Markers summarizes the most commonly described cancer stem cell markers in recent literature.

Applications of ELISA in cancer research

The use of ELISA kits to measure cancer markers has been documented in published studies. Some examples are highlighted below:

• In Varkalaite et al., 2021, researchers used ELISA kits for CEA and CA 19-9 to evaluate oncoprotein levels as potential biomarkers for gastric cancer.⁴

• The study Whitwell et al., 2020 focused on improving early detection of ovarian cancer through longitudinal multimarker models. ELISA kits were used to quantify serum concentrations of biomarker candidates, including CHI3L1 and LRG1.⁵

• Krafft et al., 2021 explored the association between serum PD-L1 levels, measured using ELISA, to study survival in patients treated with chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors for urothelial cancer.⁶

• Shi et al., 2019 measured the levels of CYR61 in the serum and ascites of ovarian cancer patients using ELISA to explore its potential association with the tumor-associated inflammatory microenvironment.⁷

• Susanto et al., 2016 investigated the serum levels of betatrophin in pancreatic cancer-associated diabetes using ELISA, providing insights into the relationship between cancer-associated conditions and specific serum biomarkers.⁸

Choosing the right ELISA kit

Researchers today can enjoy the vast scope of ELISA kits commercially available on the market. For a given target antigen, many varieties of kits may be offered by several suppliers, which can differ by parameters such as detection sensitivity, dynamic range, assay workflow and more. To help you navigate through the many options, read our Guide to Choosing the Right ELISA Kit.

References

1. Henry NL, Hayes DF. Cancer biomarkers. 2012;6(2):140-146. doi:10.1016/j.molonc.2012.01.010

2. Bethune G, Bethune D, Ridgway N, Xu Z. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in lung cancer: an overview and update. J Thorac Dis. 2010;2(1):48-51.

3. Adigun OO, Yarrarapu SNS, Zubair M, et al. Alpha Fetoprotein. [Updated 2023 Jan 18]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430750/

4. Varkalaite G, Forster M, Franke A, Kupcinskas J, Skieceviciene J. Liquid Biopsy in Gastric Cancer: Analysis of Somatic Cancer Tissue Mutations in Plasma Cell-Free DNA for Predicting Disease State and Patient Survival. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2021;12(9):e00403. Published 2021 Sep 24. doi:10.14309/ctg.0000000000000403

5. Whitwell HJ, Worthington J, Blyuss O, et al. Improved early detection of ovarian cancer using longitudinal multimarker models. Br J Cancer. 2020;122(6):847-856. doi:10.1038/s41416-019-0718-9

6. Krafft U, Olah C, Reis H, et al. High Serum PD-L1 Levels Are Associated with Poor Survival in Urothelial Cancer Patients Treated with Chemotherapy and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy. Cancers (Basel). 2021;13(11):2548. Published 2021 May 22. doi:10.3390/cancers13112548

7. Shi J, Huo R, Li N, et al. CYR61, a potential biomarker of tumor inflammatory response in epithelial ovarian cancer microenvironment of tumor progress. BMC Cancer. 2019;19(1):1140. Published 2019 Nov 25. doi:10.1186/s12885-019-6321-x

8. Susanto H, Liu TY, Chen CC, Purnomo JD, Chen SF, Wang CH. Increased serum levels of betatrophin in pancreatic cancer-associated diabetes. Oncotarget. 2016;7(27):42330-42339. doi:10.18632/oncotarget.9815