[Relation between the level of TPS, NSE, CEA and beta2-mG in the serum and the biological behavior of small cell lung cancer].

AIM: To study the relation between the level of tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and beta(2)-microglobulin (beta(2)-mG) in serum and the biological behavior of lung cancer for the more scientific diagnosis of lung cancer. METHODS: To detect the level of TPS, NSE, CEA and beta(2)-mG in the serum of 94 patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), 86 patients with benign pulmonary diseases (BPD) and 89 patients in normal control group, the level of serum were examined by ELISA and immunoradiometric assay. RESULTS: The level of TPS and NSE in the serum of SCLC group [(437.8+/-516.6) U/L, (76.8+/-91.4) microg/L] were much higher than those in BPD group [(143.6+/-78.7) U/L, (13.3+/-10.8) microg/L] and normal group [(98.4+/-58.9) U/L, (10.1+/-5.7) microg/L, P<0.01)], and the level of CEA and beta(2)-mG in the serum of SCLC group were also obviously higher than those in normal group and BPD group (P<0.01). The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of SCLC'S diagnosis by an indicator of TPS and NSE were 84.4%, 87.8%, 83.6% and 79.3%, 93.7%, 88.3%, respectively, and were much higher than CEA and beta(2)-Mg. In addition, the level of TPS and NSE in the patients' serum with metastatic SCLC were markedly higher than those in the patients with SCLC without metastasis, increased with the number of metastatic focuses. In clinical practice, the possibility of smokers suffering from lung cancer disease is 8 to 10 times higher than that of no-smokers, and 10 to 24 times higher of the people who smoked 30 to 40 cigarettes per day. From this comparison, the amount of smoking was closely related to the occurrence of lung cancer. CONCLUSION: TPS, NSE, CEA and beta(2)-mG in serum are useful for early diagnosis of lung cancer. There is complementarity in the combined detection of the level of TPS, NSE, CEA and beta(2)-MG. Their levels have close correlation with lung cancer, histological grades and lymphoid nodule metastasis.

[The significance of serum sexual hormones' level in male patients with lung cancer].

BACKGROUND: Many researches indicate that endocrine imbalance plays an important role in the oncogenesis and development of malignant tumor. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical significance of serum sexual hormones' level in male patients with lung cancer. METHODS: RIA and IRMA were used to detect the levels of serum estrodiol (E2 ), testosterone (T), prolactin (PRL), growth hormone (GH), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in 62 lung cancer patients, 30 benign pulmonary disease patients and 30 healthy men. RESULTS: The level of T in male patients with lung cancer was obviously lower than that in healthy men (t=0.348, P < 0.01 ); the levels of E2, PRL and FSH remarkably increased in male patients with lung cancer compared with healthy men (t=0.362, P < 0.01; t=2.913, P < 0.05; t=2.739, P < 0.01); the level of T in male patients with lung cancer was obviously lower than that in patients with benign pulmonary diseases (t= 3.903 , P < 0.05 ); the levels of T in squamous cell carcinoma group and adenocarcinoma group decreased significantly compared with small cell lung cancer group (t=0.358, P < 0.01; t=3.902, P < 0.05). The levels of FSH and TSH in squamous cell carcinoma group were significantly higher than those in adenocarcinoma group (t= 3.918, P < 0.01; t=2.912, P < 0.05). The level of T in lymph node metastasis group decreased obviously compared with non-lymph node metastasis group (t=3.914, P < 0.01), but the other hormones were at the same level in different pathological types of lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: There are some disturbance of serum sexual hormones' level in lung cancer patients. The detection of serum E2 , T, PRL and FSH may have some value to lung cancer diagnosis and can be an index to predict the state of lung cancer.

[The clinical significance of detection of Th1/Th2 cell cytokines in lung cancer].

BACKGROUND: To explore the clinical significance of detection of T helper cell (Th1 and Th2) in patients with lung cancer and to provide a foundation for immunological treatment. METHODS: RIA and ELISA were used to detect the level of serum IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-a in 86 patients with lung cancer, 59 patients with benign pulmonary diseases and 45 healthy people. IL-2 and TNF-a were used to represent cytokines of Th1 type, and IL-4, IL-6 and IL-8 to represent cytokines of Th2 type. RESULTS: The level of IL-2 [(24.6±12.0) µg/L]in cancer group was significantly lower than that in benign group [(71.1±25.4) µg/L] ( t =3.82, P < 0.01) and normal group [(69.3±19.5) µg/L]( t=2.76, P < 0.01), the level of IL-6 in cancer group [(0.13±0.04) µg/L] was significantly lower than that in normal group [(0.23±0.05) µg/L]( t= 3.39 , P < 0.01), but the levels of IL-4 [(254.2±78.0) µg/L], IL-8 [(0.49±0.16) µg/L], and TNF-a [( 2.76 ±1.12) µg/L] in cancer group were significantly higher than those in benign group [(63.6±18.6) µg/L, ( 0.36 ±0.18) µg/L, (0.96±0.20) µg/L respectively] and those in normal group [(60.9±19.6) µg/L, ( 0.35 ±0.07) µg/L, (0.93±0.19) µg/L respectively] ( t =4.10, 4.89, 3.76 respectively, all P < 0.01). No significant difference of IL-2, IL-4, IL-8 and TNF-a level was observed between benign group and normal group (all P > 0.05). The level of IL-6 in cancer group was similar to that in benign group [(0.15±0.04) µg/L] ( P > 0.05 ). The level of IL-6 in benign group was significantly lower than that in normal group [(0.23±0.05) µg/L] ( P > 0.05 ). There was no significant difference in these cytokines among lung cancer patients with different histological types and in different TNM stages. CONCLUSIONS: T helper cell cytokines are out of balance in patients with lung cancer, and this may play a certain role in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. Correcting this immune malfunction may become an important method in lung cancer therapy.

[Relation between the serum tissue polypeptide specific antigen level and the biological demeanour of lung cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between the serum tissue polypeptide specific antigen and the biological demeanour of lung cancer and analyze its clinical meaning for diagnosis of lung cancer. METHODS: By ELISA, the serum TPS was tested in 69 patients with lung cancer, 20 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis or pneumonia. RESULTS: The serum TPS in patients with lung cancer (273 +/- 172) U/L was significantly higher than the with benign lesions [(115 +/- 97) U/L, P < 0.001]. TPS level was related to clinical TNM stages and histological grades. It was significantly higher with TNM III, IV stages than that with I and II stages (P < 0.001). The contents of TPS in sera of 52 patients with lymphoid node metastasis were apparently higher than those of 17 cases without metastasis (P < 0.01). And it was higher in patients with small-cell lung cancer (346 +/- 163) U/L than that with non-small-cell lung cancer [(248 +/- 165) U/L, P < 0.05]. 16 post-chemotherapy patients show a lower TPS [(178 +/- 80) U/L] than pre-chemotherapy [(252 +/- 166) U/L, P < 0.05]. TPS was related with CEA (P < 0.01), NSE (P < 0.05) and TPA (P < 0.05), but not with CYFRA 21 - 1 (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Serum TPS level is closely connected with TNM stages, histological grades and lymphoid node metastases and may serve as a novel marker for diagnosis of lung cancer.