THYMIDINE KINASE IN COMPARISON WITH THE T UMOR-MARKERS CEA, CA 19-9, AND TPA IN CARCINOMAS OF THE UPPER GASTROINTESTINAL-TRACT

Deoxythymidine kinase levels (dTk) were measured in sera of 40 healthy patients, 49 patients with benign gastrointestinal diseases, and 101 patients with carcinomas of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We evaluated the specifity and sensitivity and compared the dTk results w ith those of CEA, CA 19-9, and TPA. Deoxythymidine kinase had a lower sensitivity and specifity than CA 19-9, CEA, and TPA. The specifity of dTk ranged from 54.5 % in patients with cirrhosis and pancreatitis to 92.8 % in patients with gastric and duodenal ulcer. The sensitivity r anged from 0 % in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma to 81.2 % in patients with carcinoma of the pancreas. Significant differences in dT k concentration were found for cancer of the esophagus, stomach, bile duct, and pancreas and in patients with pancreatitis in comparison to healthy controls. In addition, significant differences in dTk levels b etween carcinoma of the pancreas and patients with benign gastrointest inal diseases were observed. This study demonstrates that measurements of serum dTk concentrations do not yield additional information for d etecting neoplasms in the upper gastrointestinal tract.