Urinary levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) in patients with cancer of the uterine cervix: a valuable prognostic factor of clinical outcome?

Changes in urinary cyclic nucleotide levels have been reported in patients with various types of cancers. The present study was conducted to relate changes in urinary levels of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) to the clinical outcome of 11 patients treated for cancer of the uterine cervix. Urine was sampled for 24 h before and 3 months after primary treatment. The levels of cGMP increased in all the patients (n = 5) who relapsed within the observation period of 39 months. 4 of these patients showed an increased cGMP/cAMP ratio. In the patients without relapse (n = 6), the cGMP levels decreased, whereas the cGMP/cAMP ratios were unchanged. No marked changes in the levels of cAMP were observed for either of the groups. The measurement of urinary cGMP levels seems to be a valuable tool in the follow-up of patients with cancer of the uterine cervix.