SERUM TISSUE POLYPEPTIDE ANTIGEN (TPA) AS TUMOR-MARKER FOR BLADDER-CANCER

Tissue polypeptide antigen is a differentiation and proliferation mark er of non-squamous epithelium and derived neoplasms. No reliable tumor markers are available for bladder cancer. The value of tissue polypep tide antigen was therefore prospectively investigated. The serum tissu e polypeptide antigen samples were obtained from 144 newly diagnosed t ransitional cell carcinoma patients and from 92 patients that were fol lowed after treatment. The normal cut off value was defined at 95 unit s per liter. Nearly all TaT1 patients had normal TPA values, and 80% o f the muscle invasive cancers had normal TPA levels. In those patients where TPA was elevated before treatment its monitoring proved to be a reliable predictor of tumor progression. Tissue polypeptide antigen i s a useful marker not for the early detection of bladder cancer but fo r the monitoring of the efficacy of a treatment.