Serum levels of five tumor markers for lung cancer in patients with chronic renal failure.

The soluble cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA) and pro-gastrin-releasing peptide (ProGRP) are recently described promising tumor markers for lung cancers. To assess their alterations in renal dysfunction, serum levels of CYFRA and ProGRP were determined together with conventional markers including carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC), neuron specific enolase (NSE) in patients with renal failure of varying degrees. The mean concentration of all these markers but NSE significantly increased with the severity of renal failure. After hemodialysis (HD), the mean concentration of ProGRP, the molecular weight of which is comparable to that of 2-microglobulin, was significantly decreased. High false positive rates for tumor markers of lung cancer in patients with renal failure should be considered to avoid unnecessary diagnostic procedures.