PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF INCREASED LUNG-TUMOR TISSUE CATHEPSIN-B

In the study of 65 matched pairs of lung tumor tissue and normal lung parenchyma, cathepsin B (CB) activity was found to be increased about 4.6-fold, when regarding median levels. CB activity was found to be in significantly higher in adenocarcinoma compared to the other histologi c cell types. CB levels did not correlate with tumor stages (TNM) nor with cell differentiation, while increased CB activity was related to shorter survival rates of the patients. It is concluded that lung tumo r CB is of some prognostic value for the outcome of the malignant dise ase.