Skip to main content
Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann logoLink to Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann
. 1995 Jul;86(7):698–705. doi: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1995.tb02455.x

Enzyme‐linked Immunosorbent Assay of Pro‐gastrin‐releasing Peptide for Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients in Comparison with Neuron‐specific Enolase Measurement

Ken Yamaguchi 1,, Katsumi Aoyagi 2, Ken‐ichi Urakami 3, Toyoharu Fukutani 2, Noboru Maki 2, Shigehiro Yamamoto 3, Kotomi Otsubo 1, Yoshio Miyake 1, Tetsuro Kodama 4
PMCID: PMC5920889  PMID: 7559089

Abstract

Our previous study demonstrated that pro‐gastrin‐releasing peptide(31–98), or ProGRP, is a specific tumor marker in patients with small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). Using a newly developed, highly sensitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for ProGRP, we analyzed 1,446 samples including those obtained from 478 lung cancer patients to evaluate the clinical usefulness of this ELISA. Several properties indicated that ProGRP is a useful tumor marker for SCLC. First, ProGRP was specifically elevated in SCLC patients. In non‐SCLC patients and patients with non‐tumorous lung diseases, its serum level was very rarely elevated. Secondly, ProGRP was a reliable marker, in terms of the marked elevation of serum ProGRP levels in SCLC patients. Thirdly, serum ProGRP levels were elevated in SCLC patients even at a relatively early stage of this disease. Fourthly, changes in the serum ProGRP level showed an excellent correlation with the therapeutic responses in SCLC patients. Neuron‐specific enolase (NSE) is accepted as a tumor marker of SCLC patients. With the aim of comparing ProGRP and NSE as tumor markers for SCLC patients, we measured serum NSE levels in all samples collected in the present study. We found that ProGRP was superior to NSE in terms of sensitivity, specificity and reliability. Therefore, we consider that ProGRP can play a major role as a clinical tumor marker for SCLC patients.

Keywords: Gastrin‐releasing peptide, Pro‐gastrin‐releasing peptide(31‐98), Small cell lung carcinoma, ELISA, Tumor marker

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (448.2 KB).

REFERENCES

  • 1. ) Yamaguchi , K. , Abe , K. , Kameya , T. , Adachi , I. , Taguchi , S. , Otsubo , K. and Yanaihara , N.Production and molecular size heterogeneity of immunoreactive gastrin‐releasing peptide in fetal and adult lungs and primary lung tumors . Cancer Res. , 43 , 3932 – 3939 ( 1983. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2. ) Maruno , K. , Yamaguchi , K. , Abe , K. , Suzuki , M. , Saijo , N. , Mishima , Y. , Yanaihara , N. and Shimosato , Y.Immunoreactive gastrin‐releasing peptide as a specific tumor marker in patients with small cell lung carcinoma . Cancer Res. , 49 , 629 – 632 ( 1989. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3. ) Miyake , Y. , Kodama , T. and Yamaguchi , K.Pro‐gastrin‐releasing peptide(31–98) is a specific tumor marker in patients with small cell lung carcinoma . Cancer Res. , 54 , 2136 – 2140 ( 1994. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4. ) Aoyagi , K. , Miyake , Y. , Urakami , K. , Kashiwakuma , T. , Hasegawa , A. , Kodama , T. and Yamaguchi , K.Enzyme immunoassay of immunoreactive progastrin‐releasing peptide(31–98) as tumor marker for small‐cell lung carcinoma: development and evaluation . Clin. Chem. , 41 , 537 – 543 ( 1995. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5. ) American Joint Committee on Cancer, Task Force on Lung . “ Staging of Lung Cancer 1979 ” ( 1979. ). American Joint Committee on Cancer; , Chicago . [Google Scholar]
  • 6. ) World Health Organization . “ WHO Handbook for Reporting Results of Cancer Treatment ” ( 1979. ). Geneva , Switzerland . [Google Scholar]
  • 7. ) Burghuber , O. C. , Worofka , B. , Schernthaner , G. , Vetter , N. , Neumann , M. , Dudczac , R. and Kuzmits , R.Serum neuron‐specific enolase is a useful tumor marker for small cell lung cancer . Cancer , 65 , 1386 – 1390 ( 1990. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 8. ) Metz , C. E.Basic principles of ROC analysis . Semin. Nucl. Med. , 8 , 283 – 294 ( 1978. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 9. ) Hanley , J. A. and McNeil , B. J.The meaning and use of the area under a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve . Radiology , 143 , 29 – 36 ( 1982. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 10. ) Hanley , J. A. and McNeil , B. J.A method of comparing the areas under receiver operating characteristic curves derived from the same cases . Radiology , 148 , 839 – 843 ( 1983. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 11. ) Yamaguchi , K. , Abe , K. , Adachi , I. , Kimura , S. , Suzuki , M. , Shimada , A. , Kodama , T. , Kameya , T. and Shimosato , Y.Peptide hormone production in primary lung tumors . Recent Results Cancer Res. , 99 , 107 – 116 ( 1985. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 12. ) Yamaguchi , K. , Abe , K. , Adachi , I. , Otsubo , K. , Nagasaki , K. , Suzuki , M. , Maruno , K. , Asanuma , F. , Tsuchihashi , T. , Miyake , Y. , Yoshinaga , K. , Matsubara , H. , Imanishi , K. , Kimura , S. , Kodama , T. , Kameya , T. and Shimosato , Y.Peptide hormone production in small cell lung carcinomas with particular reference to gastrin‐releasing peptide . Jpn. J. Clin. Oncol. , 16 , 235 – 241 ( 1986. ). [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 13. ) Carney , D. N. , Marangos , P. J. , Ihde , D. C. , Bunn , P. A. , Jr. , Cohen , M. H. , Minna , J. D. and Gazdar , A. D.Serum neuron‐specific enolase: a marker for disease extent and response to therapy of small‐cell lung cancer . Lancet , i , 583 – 585 ( 1982. ). [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Japanese Journal of Cancer Research : Gann are provided here courtesy of Wiley

RESOURCES