RESUMO
The CA 15-3 and CEA concentrations and the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (Gamma GT) activities of serum from 78 patients with breast cancer have been measured. The patients included 27 with localised breast cancer, 19 who had been treated for breast cancer but were now disease-free, 17 with liver metastases, 8 with bone metastases, and 7 with disseminated breast cancer but with neither metastases to the liver or bone. As an indicator of localised breast cancer the predictive value of an increase in CA 15-3 concentration was 93%. As an indicator of metastatic breast cancer the predictive value of an increased CA 15-3 was 62%, whereas the predictive values of an increase in both CA 15-3 and CEA and an increase in CA 15-3, CEA, and ALP 88% and 100%, respectively. A normal CA 15-3 excluded metastatic breast cancer and a normal gamma-GT excluded liver metastases. The four tests together provide a set of markers for use in the follow-up of patients with breast cancer.
Assuntos
Biomarcadores Tumorais/sangue , Neoplasias da Mama/enzimologia , Neoplasias da Mama/imunologia , Adulto , Idoso , Fosfatase Alcalina/sangue , Antígenos Glicosídicos Associados a Tumores/sangue , Antígeno Carcinoembrionário/sangue , Feminino , Humanos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Metástase Neoplásica , Valor Preditivo dos Testes , gama-Glutamiltransferase/sangueRESUMO
Serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) has been measured in 28 patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and 90 patients with other forms of lung cancer (NSCLC), i.e., 28 with adenocarcinoma and 62 with squamous cell carcinoma. Increased NSE (greater than 12.0 micrograms/liter) was found in 71.4% of SCLC patients and in 22.2% of NSCLC patients. The predictive value of an increased NSE in identifying SCLC was only 50%, whereas the predictive value of a normal NSE in differentiating SCLC for NSCLC was 91%. Serial studies during chemotherapy of SCLC patients showed that the doubling time of NSE ranged from 7 to 127 days and the mean apparent half-life (AHL) of NSE to be 14 days. AHL values in excess of 20 days suggest that the tumour is not in full remission. We believe that measurement of serum NSE and calculation of the AHL and DT are valuable in identifying the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with SCLC.
