AI Article Synopsis
- Midkine (MK), a growth factor linked to cancer, shows increased levels in various human carcinomas, particularly in cancer patients.
- An enzyme-linked immunoassay showed that 87% of cancer patients had serum MK levels over the cut-off value of 0.5 ng ml(-1).
- Results suggest that serum MK can be a useful tumor marker for early detection and clinical applications, even in initial stages of cancer like gastric and lung carcinoma.
Article Abstract
The level of expression of midkine (MK), a heparin-binding growth factor, is increased in many types of human carcinomas. An enzyme-linked immunoassay, which utilizes a combination of rabbit and chicken antibodies revealed that serum MK level in the controls (n = 135) was 0.154 +/- 0.076 (mean +/- SD) ng ml(-1)with an apparent cut-off value as 0.5 ng ml(-1). Serum MK level was significantly elevated in the cancer patients (n = 150) (P< 0.001); 87% of the patients showed levels of more than 0.5 ng ml(-1). All ten types of cancer examined showed a similar profile of serum MK level. There was no or weak correlation between C-reactive protein level, a marker of inflammation, and serum MK level. Furthermore, in case of gastric carcinoma and lung carcinoma, patients with stage I carcinoma already showed elevated serum MK levels. The present results indicated that serum MK could serve as a general tumour marker with a good potential for clinical application.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2363529 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1054/bjoc.2000.1339 | DOI Listing |
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