Objective  To investigate the correlation between the levels of mannan-binding lectin associated serine proteases (MASP-2) and natural killer cell 2D (NKG2D) and pathophysiological characteristics in lung cancer patients.

Methods  A total of 104 patients with lung cancer in Henan Rongjun Hospital from August 2018 to April 2021 were selected as the lung cancer group, while 68 patients with healthy physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group. The expression levels of MASP-2 and NKG2D in the two groups were compared, and the correlation between the expression levels of MASP-2 and NKG2D in the lung cancer group and their pathological characteristics were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to analyze the diagnostic value of MASP-2 and NKG2D alone and combined detection in lung cancer.

Results  The level of MASP-2 (424.55 vs. 221.48, P<0.001) was significantly higher in the lung cancer group than that in the control group, while the level of NKG2D (74.42 vs.84.23, P<0.001) was lower than that in the control group. MASP-2 and NKG2D levels were moderately correlated in lung cancer (r=0.554, P<0.05). The level of MASP-2 was higher in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, stage III~IV, moderate-high differentiation, and distant metastasis (P<0.05). NKG2D was significantly reduced in patients with stage III~IV, moderately and high-differentiated, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis (P<0.05). ROC analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of MASP-2 in predicting lung cancer was 0.648 (95%CI 0.526 to 0.984), P=0.024)], and the diagnostic cut-off was 416.24 ng/mL, with a sensitivity of 68.65% and a specificity of 52.89%. The AUC of NKG2D for predicting lung cancer was 0.628 (95%CI 0.517 to 1.023), P=0.036], and the diagnostic cut-off was 76.38 pg/mL, with a sensitivity of 63.38% and a specificity of 67.26%. The AUC for the joint prediction of lung cancer was 0.723 (95%CI 0.634 to 0.947), P=0.011], with a sensitivity of 84.79% and a specificity of 67.14%.

Conclusion  MASP-2 and NKG2D may be involved in the occurrence and development of lung cancer. The combined diagnosis of MASP-2 and NKG2D has high diagnostic value and is expected to become a new tumor marker for lung cancer.

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