Tempfer C, Hefler L, Haeusler G, Sliutz G, Hanzal E, Reinthaller A, Kainz C H
Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, University of Vienna, Medical School, Austria.
Br J Cancer. 1997;76(10):1387-9. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1997.565.
Cytokeratins are polypeptides that constitute a subclass of intermediate filaments in epithelial cells. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of the serum evaluation of M3/M21 in patients with ovarian cancer. This retrospective study comprises 75 patients suffering from ovarian cancer FIGO stages Ia-III. M3/M21 reached a sensitivity of 78%, a specificity of 85%, a PPV of 89% and a NPV of 83% using a cut-off level of 45 U 1(-1). Forty-four women developed recurrent disease after complete remission during the observation period. M3/M21 showed lead time effects in 19 patients, ranging from 2 to 8 months (median 3.2 months). Elevated M3/M21 serum levels before therapy were associated with a poor overall survival (log-rank test, P = 0.02). Considering these preliminary results, the value of M3/M21 as a serum tumour marker, i.e. to evaluate the tumour burden, seems promising.
细胞角蛋白是构成上皮细胞中间丝亚类的多肽。本研究的目的是评估血清M3/M21检测在卵巢癌患者中的临床应用价值。这项回顾性研究纳入了75例FIGO分期为Ia - III期的卵巢癌患者。采用45 U 1(-1)的临界值时，M3/M21的敏感性为78%，特异性为85%，阳性预测值为89%，阴性预测值为83%。在观察期内，44名女性在完全缓解后出现了疾病复发。M3/M21在19例患者中显示出提前期效应，时间范围为2至8个月（中位数为3.2个月）。治疗前血清M3/M21水平升高与总体生存率较差相关（对数秩检验，P = 0.02）。考虑到这些初步结果，M3/M21作为一种血清肿瘤标志物，即用于评估肿瘤负荷，其价值似乎很有前景。
