Krebs von den lungen-6 (KL-6)
Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are a heterogeneous group of conditions, with a wide and complex variety of imaging features. Difficulty in monitoring, treating and exploring novel therapies for these conditions is in part due to the lack of robust, readily available biomarkers1. A majority of patients with ILD is characterised by considerable delays, frequent misdiagnosis, exposure to costly and invasive diagnostic procedures, and substantial use of healthcare resources2.
Increased KL-6 serum concentrations were observed in patients with severe pulmonary involvement, revealing a prognostic value and supporting the potential usefulness of KL-6 measurement to evaluate COVID-19 patients' prognosis.
References:
1 Murray CJL, Piot P. The Potential Future of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Will SARS-CoV-2 Become a Recurrent Seasonal Infection? JAMA. Published online March 03, 2021. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.2828
2 Grabmeier J, 2021, More than 87,000 scientific papers on coronavirus since pandemic (2021, February 23) https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-02-scientific-papers-coronavirus-pandemic.html