%0 Journal Article %A Adel Attia %A Mohammed El Sammak %A Mossa Suleman %T Evaluation of pleural fluid human epididymis 4 (HE4) as a marker of malignant pleural effusions %D 2012 %J European Respiratory Journal %P P4618 %V 40 %N Suppl 56 %X Pleural effusions are a commonly encountered problem in clinical practice, and pleural fluid analysis is usually the first step towards identifying the underlying etiology. Numerous studies have been published analyzing the potential utility of measuring biomarkers in pleural fluid as possible indicators of a malignant effusion, however there are no studies that have examined the presence of HE4 in pleural effusions. The aim of this study was to assess pleural effusion and serum concentrations of HE4 in patients with different types of pleural effusions and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of HE4 in detecting malignant pleural effusions.Patients and methods:A prospective study was carried out of 88 consecutive patients presenting with pleural effusions. The patients were divided into three groups: 22 patients with transudative effusions, 32 patients with non-malignant exudative effusions and 34 patients with malignant pleural effusions. Blood and pleural fluid HE4 levels were measured using a chemiluminescent immunoassay.Results:Both serum HE4 levels and pleural effusion HE4 levels were significantly higher in patients with malignant effusions than in patients with transudative or non-malignant exudative effusions. A pleural fluid HE4 cut-off value of 1675 pmol/L was found to predict malignant pleural effusions with a diagnostic sensitivity of 85.3% and specificity of 90.7%.Conclusion:The current study reports a novel finding of increased serum and pleural fluid HE4 levels in patients with malignant effusions compared to non-malignant effusions. This finding has the potential to strengthen the diagnostic performance of tumor markers in detecting malignant pleural effusions. %U https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/erj/40/Suppl_56/P4618.full.pdf