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. 2000 Aug 17;83(6):701–706. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2000.1339

Serum midkine levels are increased in patients with various types of carcinomas

S Ikematsu 1, A Yano 1, K Aridome 2, M Kikuchi 3, H Kumai 1, H Nagano 1, K Okamoto 4, M Oda 1, S Sakuma 1, T Aikou 2, H Muramatsu 5, K Kadomatsu 5, T Muramatsu 5
PMCID: PMC2363529  PMID: 10952771

Abstract

The level of expression of midkine (MK), a heparin-binding growth factor, is increased in many types of human carcinomas. An enzyme-linked immunoassay, which utilizes a combination of rabbit and chicken antibodies revealed that serum MK level in the controls (n= 135) was 0.154 ± 0.076 (mean ± SD) ng ml–1with an apparent cut-off value as 0.5 ng ml–1. Serum MK level was significantly elevated in the cancer patients (n= 150) (P< 0.001); 87% of the patients showed levels of more than 0.5 ng ml–1. All ten types of cancer examined showed a similar profile of serum MK level. There was no or weak correlation between C-reactive protein level, a marker of inflammation, and serum MK level. Furthermore, in case of gastric carcinoma and lung carcinoma, patients with stage I carcinoma already showed elevated serum MK levels. The present results indicated that serum MK could serve as a general tumour marker with a good potential for clinical application. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign

Keywords: enzyme-linked immunoassay, growth factor, midkine, serum, tumour marker

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Selected References

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