TPS (TISSUE POLYPEPTIDE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN) IN ONCOLOGIC PRACTICE - A REVIEW WITH REFERENCE TO 3000 CASES OF BREAST-CANCER

TPS is an antigenic determinant associated with human cytokeratin 18, an acid-type intermediate filament protein. TPS is detected by a monoc lonal antibody (M3), which was raised against human carcinoma cell pre parations. The value of measuring circulating TPS lies in the early de tection of disease recurrence and in the rapid assessment of the effic acy of treatment. In this review, the last 4 year studies of more than 3000 breast cancer patients are reported. The studies provide the mos t comprehensive, recent information about the clinical significance of TPS in breast cancer. TPS is a marker of tumor cell activity. It is n ot related to tumor burden. For clinical and routine use, the main ind ication of TPS in breast cancer is to monitor the activity of the dise ase and to measure the efficacy of therapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Despite certain limitations regarding sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of primary breast cancer, the use of the TPS assay has steadily achieved an increasing acceptance for monitorin g the course of cancerous activity in breast cancer patients during an d after adjuvant treatment. The combined use of TPS and a marker measu ring tumor burden increases the sensitivity of detection of recurrent disease, but at the same time a certain decrease in specificity will o ccur.