Significance of serum thymidine kinase determination in patients with gastric carcinoma

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of serum thymidine kinase 1(sTK1) in gastric cancer.Methods The levels of sTK1 in 102 patients with gastric cancer,35 with benign disease and 38 normal controls were determined by enhanced chemi-luminescence assay.Results The levels of sTK1 in patients with gastric carcinoma(2.35[1.28~3.75] pm/L)were much higher than those in patients with benign disease(1.21[0.75~1.43] pm/L)and normal controls(1.14 [0.72~1.39] pm/L)(P0.01),but there was no significant difference between patients with benign disease and normal controls(P0.05).The level of sTK1 declined significantly one month after operation.The positive rate of sTK1 in patients with gastric cancer(57.8%) was much higher than other digestive tumour marker(carcinoembryonic antigen,carbohydrate antigen 199,CA50).Conclusions The detection of sTK1 may have value in the diagnosis,monitoring and prognosis of gastric cancer.