Szturmowicz M, Wiatr E, Sakowicz A, Slodkowska J, Roszkowski K, Filipecki S, Rowinska-Zakrzewska E R
Department of Internal Medicine, Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Warsaw, Poland.
J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 1995;121(5):309-12. doi: 10.1007/BF01209599.
Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)-like immunoreactivity has been found in many non-trophoblastic tumours, but the biological behaviour of HCG-producing cells has not been clarified yet. The aim of the study was to estimate the frequency of serum HCG beta subunit (s beta HCG) elevation in patients with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) and to assess its possible prognostic role in this type of tumour. An attempt was also made to reclassify the histology in selected cases to see whether the elevated (s beta HCG) level is connected with any special subtype of small-cell lung cancer. A total of 156 SCLC patients entered the study: 93 men, 63 women, median age 58 years. s beta HCG activity was measured by immunoenzyme assay (Abbott EIA beta HCG 15-15) before treatment. s beta HCG elevation (above 5 mIU/ml) was found in 21 of 156 patients (14%). Response to treatment after chemotherapy (complete and partial response) was obtained in only 48% of those patients in whom elevated s beta HCG was found, in comparison to the 73% response rate observed in the remaining patients. Only 5% of patients with elevated s beta HCG survived 2 years, in comparison to 21% surviving for 2 years among the remaining patients. The prognostic significance of elevated s beta HCG and extent of disease were independent of each other (Cox's proportional-hazard model). Thus s beta HCG elevation in SCLC seems to be a marker of more resistant tumours and of poor prognosis. We have not found any connection between the subtype of small-cell lung cancer and elevated s beta HCG. Elevated s beta HCG was found in 2 out of 11 patients with oat-cell carcinoma, in 3 out of 10 patients with an intermediate cell type and in 5 out of 13 patients with small-cell lung cancer in which the assessment of the subtype was not possible.
在许多非滋养层肿瘤中都发现了人绒毛膜促性腺激素（HCG）样免疫反应性，但产生HCG的细胞的生物学行为尚未阐明。本研究的目的是评估小细胞肺癌（SCLC）患者血清HCGβ亚基（sβHCG）升高的频率，并评估其在这类肿瘤中可能的预后作用。还尝试对部分病例的组织学进行重新分类，以观察升高的（sβHCG）水平是否与小细胞肺癌的任何特殊亚型有关。共有156例SCLC患者进入研究：93例男性，63例女性，中位年龄58岁。在治疗前通过免疫酶测定法（雅培EIAβHCG 15 - 15）测量sβHCG活性。156例患者中有21例（14%）发现sβHCG升高（高于5 mIU/ml）。在发现sβHCG升高的患者中，只有48%在化疗后获得了治疗反应（完全缓解和部分缓解），而其余患者的反应率为73%。sβHCG升高的患者中只有5%存活了2年，而其余患者中有21%存活了2年。sβHCG升高和疾病范围的预后意义相互独立（Cox比例风险模型）。因此，SCLC中sβHCG升高似乎是肿瘤更具抗性和预后不良的标志物。我们未发现小细胞肺癌亚型与升高的sβHCG之间存在任何关联。在11例燕麦细胞癌患者中有2例发现sβHCG升高，在10例中间细胞类型患者中有3例发现升高，在13例无法评估亚型的小细胞肺癌患者中有5例发现升高。
