CLINICAL-VALUE OF DETERMINATION OF UROKINASE-TYPE PLASMINOGEN-ACTIVATOR ANTIGEN IN PLASMA FOR DETECTION OF COLORECTAL-CANCER - COMPARISON WITH CIRCULATING TUMOR-ASSOCIATED ANTIGENS CA 19-9 AND CARCINOEMBRYONICANTIGEN

We determined urokinase-type plasminogen activator antigen (u-PA), gas trointestinal cancer-associated antigen (CA 19-9), and carcinoembryoni c antigen (CEA) in the plasma of patients with colorectal cancer at th e time of clinical tumor detection and in a group of patients with Cro hn's disease and analyzed the specificity of these tumor markers. u-PA , CA 19-9, and CEA were indicative for colorectal cancer in 75.5%, 51. 5%, and 51.5% of tumor patients, respectively, with a specificity of 7 9.3%, 94%, and 97.5%. Sensitivity increased when two or all three mark ers were determined in identical blood samples, whereby a combination or u-PA and CEA exhibited the highest sensitivity value (90.9%) as com pared to the combinations of u-PA and CA 19-9 or CA 19-9 and CEA. The use of all 3 markers did not lead to further increased sensitivity. Fa lse negative results were obtained in 3 of 32 cancer patients (9.1%, u sing one of 3 markers as indicative for malignant disease). These resu lts indicate the benefit of multiparametric tumor marker analyses incl uding u-PA antigen for the diagnosis of colorectal cancer.