High levels of immunoreactive nervous system-specific enolase in sera of patients with neuroblastoma.

Serum levels of nervous system-specific enolase (NSE, gamma gamma form plus alpha gamma form) in patients with neuroblastoma and in control subjects were determined with a sensitive solid-phase sandwich enzyme immunoassay system. Serum levels of NSE in healthy adults ranged from 1.4-5.7 ng/ml (2.87 +/- 1.18 ng/ml, n = 20), and in control children (1-7 years old) from 2.6 to 10.8 ng/ml (5.76 +/- 2.42 ng/ml, n = 20). Serum samples (n = 13) from patients with neuroblastoma contained high levels of NSE, range 13.6 to 330 ng/ml (mean 96 ng/ml); however those (n = 7) from ganglioneuroblastoma patients were within a normal range (3.0-25.0 ng/ml; mean 8.3 ng/ml). These results suggested that the NSE in serum might be a valuable marker substance for screening and therapeutic monitoring of neuroblastoma.