Various isoforms of the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase are expressed in
different cell-types. One of these isoforms, the type Tu M2-PK: is strongly
overexpressed by tumor cells and released into body fluids. The concentrat
ion of Tu M2-PK in body fluids can be quantitatively determined by a commer
cially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-kit. Using this
kit, the Tu M2-PK concentration was measured in EDTA-plasma of 64 patients
with renal carcinoma and 10 patients suffering from nephritis. The ranges o
f the Tu M2-PK-concentrations of the two groups did not overlap, indicating
a highly significant discrimination of renal carcinoma and benign renal di
seases. Furthermore, the Tu M2-PK-concentration in EDTA-plasma correlates s
trongly with the Robson tumor stage of the 64 patients. The present results
indicate that the Tu M2-PK might be the first tumor marker which could be
an excellent complementation of the diagnostic program for renal carcinoma.