{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T21:41:16Z","timestamp":1790631676532,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,11]],"date-time":"2013-12-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1386720000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A non-invasive test to facilitate the diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is still not available and represents an important goal. Forty-eight patients with stage I NSCLC, 45 with IPF, 30 with other idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) including idiopathic non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), 35 with diffuse non-malignant disease and  30 healthy donors were enrolled onto the study. Free circulating (fc)DNA and MMP-7 levels were evaluated by Real Time PCR and ELISA, respectively. Median fcDNA levels  were similar in NSCLC (127 ng\/mL, range 23.6\u2013345 ng\/mL) and IPF (106 ng\/mL,  range 22\u2013224 ng\/mL) patients, and significantly lower in IIPs patients, in individuals with other diseases and in healthy donors (p &lt; 0.05). Conversely, median MMP-7 values were significantly higher in IPF patients (9.10 ng\/mL, range 3.88\u201319.72 ng\/mL) than in those with NSCLC (6.31 ng\/mL, range 3.38\u201316.36 ng\/mL; p &lt; 0.0001), NSIP (6.50 ng\/mL,  range 1.50\u201322.47 ng\/mL; p = 0.007), other diseases (5.41 ng\/mL, range 1.78\u201315.91,  p &lt; 0.0001) or healthy donors (4.35 ng\/mL, range 2.45\u20137.23; p &lt; 0.0001). Serum MMP-7 levels seem to be capable of distinguishing IPF patients from those with any other lung disease. fcDNA levels were similar in NSCLC and IPF patients, confirming its potential role as a biomarker, albeit non-specific, for the differential diagnosis of NSCLC.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms141224097","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,11]],"date-time":"2013-12-11T12:03:16Z","timestamp":1386763396000},"page":"24097-24112","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["MMP-7 and fcDNA Serum Levels in Early NSCLC and Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonia: Preliminary Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Paola","family":"Ulivi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola 47014, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gian","family":"Casoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pulmonology, Department of Thoracic Diseases, Morgagni-Pierantoni Hospital,  Forl\u00ec 47121, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Foschi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola 47014, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emanuela","family":"Scarpi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Biostatistics and Clinical Trials, IRST IRCCS, Meldola 47014, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sara","family":"Tomassetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pulmonology, Department of Thoracic Diseases, Morgagni-Pierantoni Hospital,  Forl\u00ec 47121, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Micaela","family":"Romagnoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pulmonology, Department of Thoracic Diseases, Morgagni-Pierantoni Hospital,  Forl\u00ec 47121, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Claudia","family":"Ravaglia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pulmonology, Department of Thoracic Diseases, Morgagni-Pierantoni Hospital,  Forl\u00ec 47121, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marta","family":"Mengozzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Thoracic Surgery, Department of Thoracic Diseases, Morgagni-Pierantoni Hospital, Forl\u00ec 47121, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wainer","family":"Zoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biosciences Laboratory, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola 47014, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Venerino","family":"Poletti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pulmonology, Department of Thoracic Diseases, Morgagni-Pierantoni Hospital,  Forl\u00ec 47121, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,12,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"7","article-title":"Epithelial stem cell exhaustion in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis","volume":"27","author":"Chilosi","year":"2010","journal-title":"Sarcoidosis Vasc. 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