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. 1996 May;73(10):1227–1232. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1996.235

Pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (31-98) as a tumour marker of small-cell lung cancer: comparative evaluation with neuron-specific enolase.

M Takada 1, Y Kusunoki 1, N Masuda 1, K Matui 1, T Yana 1, S Ushijima 1, K Iida 1, K Tamura 1, T Komiya 1, I Kawase 1, N Kikui 1, H Morino 1, M Fukuoka 1
PMCID: PMC2074511  PMID: 8630283

Abstract

We attempted to clarify whether serum levels of a carboxy-terminal fragment of ProGRP, ProGRP(31-98), could serve as a more accurate tumour marker in patients with SCLC than neuron-specific enolase (NSE). ProGRP(31-98) and NSE were measured retrospectively in 101 newly diagnosed untreated patients with SCLC, 111 with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 114 patients with non-malignant lung diseases. ProGRP(31-98) and NSE levels were determined using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Sensitivity in SCLC patients was 72.3% for ProGRP(31-98) and 62.4% for NSE. Comparing the area under curve (AUC) of 'receiver operator characteristics' of ProGRP(31-98) with that of NSE, ProGRP(31-98) was the more powerful marker in the diagnosis of SCLC (P = 0.0001). Serum levels of ProGRP(31-98) were higher in the 40 patients with extensive disease than in the 61 patients with limited disease (P = 0.0082). ProGRP(31-98) was significantly higher in patients with pure small-cell carcinoma than in patients with mixed small-cell/large-cell carcinoma (P = 0.02). In serial measurement in 16 patients responding to treatment, a high degree of correlation was noted between the decrease in serum ProGRP(31-98) levels and clinical response during the second week after treatment (P = 0.0045). These results indicate that the determination of serum ProGRP(31-98) levels plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of SCLC patients.

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Selected References

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