INCREASED SERUM LEVELS OF TRANSFORMING GROWTH-FACTOR-ALPHA IN PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL-CANCER

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the serum levels of t ransforming growth factor-alpha in patients with colorectal cancer and to investigate the clinical significance of these levels in associati on with tumor stage and histologic differentiation. Also, serum levels of transforming growth factor-alpha were measured after curative surg ical resection. METHODS: Serum levels of transforming growth factor-al pha were measured in 42 consecutive patients with colorectal cancer be fore surgery, in 21 patients after surgical resection (part of the 42 preoperative patients), and in 20 healthy volunteers. We used TGF-alph a Assay(TM). RESULTS: Serum levels of transforming growth factor-alpha in patients with colorectal cancer were significantly higher than in the healthy control group (P = 0.001). Significant elevations in serum levels of transforming growth factor-alpha were found in 50 percent ( 21/42) of patients with colorectal cancer when the mean + 2 standard d eviations (80.4 pg/ml) of the control group were used as the upper lim it of the normal range. Serum levels of transforming growth factor-alp ha tended to decrease with increasing tumor size (n = 31; r = -0.52; P = 0.002). Serum levels of transforming growth factor-alpha before sur gery (89.7 +/- 44.4 pg/ml; n = 21) significantly decreased to 60.3 +/- 19.8 pg/ml after surgical resections of tumors (P = 0.017). Serum lev els of transforming growth factor-alpha completely decreased to the sa me serum levels of the control group after surgical resections in all patients who had serum levels of transforming growth factor-alpha grea ter than mean + 2 standard deviations (80.4 pg/ml) of the control grou p preoperatively (n = 11; P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Levels of preoperat ive transforming growth factor-alpha in patients with colorectal cance r appeared to be higher than levels measured in control subjects. Seru m levels of transforming growth factor-alpha before surgery significan tly decreased after surgical resections of tumors. Additional studies are warranted to determine if serum levels of transforming growth fact or-alpha may be useful as a potential biomarker in the management of p atients with colorectal cancer.