Dagnino S, Bodinier B, Guida F, et al. - Given that there is increasing evidence that inflammation plays a role in lung carcinogenesis, researchers investigated novel markers of lung cancer risk to see if they were markers of early carcinogenesis. They used two prospective cohorts in Italy and Norway (women only) to collect 648 pre-diagnostic blood samples which were analyzed using a panel of 92 circulating inflammatory proteins. In univariate and penalized regression models, it was revealed for the first time that blood levels of CDCP1 protein were higher in patients who went on to develop lung cancer vs controls, regardless of time to diagnosis, smoking habits, and gender. This link was validated using an additional 450 samples. Stronger links were evident for future cases of adenocarcinoma where CDCP1 displayed better explanatory performance. Findings revealed that CDCP1 expression dysregulation associated with lung cancer was present years before diagnosis.