Fig. 3

Serum DCN-CS levels in patients with fibrotic lung disorders. Serum DCN-CS was assessed in three independent cohorts: Cohort 1 included patients with NSCLC (n = 8), IPF (n = 8), COPD (n = 8), colonoscopy-negative controls (CNC) (n = 8) and a panel of healthy controls (HC) (n = 20). Data were compared using one-way ANOVA adjusted for Tukey’s multiple comparisons test. Cohort 2 consisted of patients with NSCLC (n = 12), SCLC (n = 8) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 43). Data were compared using Kruskal-Wallis adjusted for Dunn’s multiple comparisons test. Cohort 3 comprised serum samples from patients diagnosed with IPF (n = 116) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 38). Groups were compared using unpaired, two-tailed Mann-Whitney test. Data are shown as Tukey box plots. Significance levels: ***: p < 0.001 and ****: p < 0.0001