NEW AND TRADITIONAL SERUM MARKERS OF BONE METABOLISM IN THE DETECTIONOF SKELETAL METASTASES

Objectives: The evaluation of ''new'' and ''traditional'' markers of o steoblastic and osteoclastic activity, in patients with bone metastase s. Design and Methods: Our series consist of 40 patients with clinical , radiological, and scintigraphic evidence of bone metastases, and 40 age-matched healthy subjects. In all samples, traditional markers were evaluated by measuring total alkaline phosphatase (ALP), tartrate-res istant acid phosphatase (TrACP) activity, and osteocalcin (BGP) concen tration. To assess new biochemical bone markers, bone isoenzyme of alk aline phosphatase (ALP-B) activity, carboxyterminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), and carboxyterminal telopeptide of type I colla gen (ICTP) concentrations were measured. Results: Our findings showed that the best diagnostic efficiency is provided by ICTP (0.94) followe d by total ALP (0.90), ALP-B (0.80), and TrACP (0.76). The efficiency of BGP and PICP was, instead, very low (0.64 and 0.60, respectively). Conclusion: Our results confirm the utility of the new serum markers s uch as ALP-B and ICTP assays in detecting bone metastases.