Clinical Significance of Large Tenascin-C Spliced Variant as a Potential Biomarker for Colorectal Cancer

Abstract Background  Tenascin-C is an extracellular matrix protein forming various types of spliced variants. Low molecule variants are transiently present, but large spliced variants are predominantly overexpressed in proliferative processes or tumorigenesis in some varieties of cancer. However, the detection of the plasma level of large tenascin-C spliced variant (L-Tn-CSV) in colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been clarified. This study was performed to validate elevated plasma L-Tn-CSV levels as a possible biomarker for CRC.