SIGNIFICANCE OF PLACENTAL ALKALINE-PHOSPHATASE (PLAP) IN THE MONITORING OF PATIENTS WITH SEMINOMA

Objective To investigate the significance of placental alkaline phosph atase (FLAP) as a tumour marker for seminoma. Patients and methods A t otal of 673 serum samples from 116 patients with testicular germ cell tumours (78 seminomas and 38 non-seminomas) were analysed for several markers including PLAP, total alkaline phosphatase (AL-P), alpha fetop rotein (AFP), beta human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG-B), and lactic d ehydrogenase(LDH). Results Serum FLAP was increased initially in about 50% of patients with seminoma, and the mean magnitude of elevation wa s about five times the normal value, There was no significant correlat ion between FLAP and LDH or between PLAP and T-ICG-B, Therefore, a com bination of these three markers was of value, and resulted in a positi ve identification rate of 82% of patients with seminoma, False-positiv e results for PLAP appeared in 1.6% of 673 samples investigated. Concl usion The monitoring of serum PLAP might be of value, as fluctuations in this marker provide information about disease status and prognosis.