RESUMO
OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the clinical significance of urinary epidermal growth factor (EGF) in patients with brain tumors.@*METHODS@#The levels of EGF in urine samples collected from 20 patients (9 low grade astrocytomas, 6 anaplastic astrocytomas, and 5 meningiomas) and 5 healthy individuals were determined. EGF levels were measured by radioimmunoassay technique. A preoperative and one postoperative determination were performed.@*RESULTS@#Preoperative urinary EGF levels of astrocytoma patients were statistically higher than those of meningioma patients and the controls (P 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The urinary EGF levels of astrocytoma patients correlate with the WHO grade of malignance and significantly decrease after gross total removal. Urinary EGF may be of practical value in diagnosing and evaluating the surgical efficacy of astrocytomas.