Thymidine kinase 1: A proliferation marker for determining prognosis and monitoring the surgical outcome of primary bladder carcinoma patients

Abstract

Abstract. Reliable markers for monitoring bladder tumor therapy are needed to evaluate treatment effectiveness. Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is an enzyme involved in DNA synthesis and therefore proliferation-dependent. Serum concentration of TK1 (STK1) correlates with malignancy in various types of cancer, thus reflecting treatment results. This study explores for the first time the use of STK1 concentration, both as a prognostic marker and to monitor the outcome of bladder carcinoma surgery. STK1 in 56 bladder carcinoma patients was measured pre-operatively, and postoperatively at 1 week and 1, 3, and 6 months, using an immune ECL dot blot assay. An anti-TK1 chicken IgY antibody was used to determine STK1 concentrations. Mean pre-operative STK1 of bladder carcinoma patients was significantly higher than that of healthy individuals, with no overlap of individual values. STK1 concentrations increased significantly with tumor stage (I-III) and T-values (T1-T2), but not tumor grade (G1-G4). STK1 gradually declined, being 66% lower after 1 week. STK1 reached the level of healthy controls at 1 month and remained there for at least 6 months, post-operatively until this study ended. Since STK1 concentration correlates with tumor stage, degree of invasion and metastasis, and monitors the surgical outcome, it can be a reliable index to diagnose and determine prognosis in post-operative bladder carcinoma.

Elevated thymidine kinase 1 in serum following neoadjuvant chemotherapy predicts poor outcome for patients with locally advanced breast cancer

“…Note that the concentration of S-TK1 was observed in varying degrees in breast cancer specimens. Based on our previous study (20), we used 2.0 as our cut-off value. Patients were distributed into two groups: a low S-TK1 group (<2.0 pM, n=19 patients) and a high S-TK1 group (≥2.0 pM, n=29 patients).…”

“…Thus, S-TK1 should be a good marker for tumor cell proliferation. S-TK1 activity has been used to monitor the extent of tumor metastasis and prognosis in patients with acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's disease, bladder carcinoma, and cervical carcinoma (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)). Yet, no study to date has examined the significance of S-TK1 as a prognostic indicator for LABC patients who have undergone neoadjuvant chemotherapy.…”

Thymidine kinase 1 as a diagnostic tumor marker is of moderate value in cancer patients: A meta-analysis

“…In the beginning of G1 the cellular concentration of TK1 is not measurable. Transcriptional and translational mechanisms control the increased expression in the early S phase (11)(12)(13)(14). Its activity has been shown to be correlated with the proliferative activity of tumor cells.…”

Thymidine kinase 1 – A prognostic and diagnostic indicator in ALL and AML patients

“…5 It has been proposed that serum TK1 levels (i) may indicate patients' response to therapy, (ii) may serve as a prognostic indicator and (iii) may reflect the aggressiveness of leukemic cells. 6 The mechanism of how TK1 enters the blood stream is not yet fully understood; nevertheless, experimental evidence suggests that screening serum for elevated TK1 levels may prove to be a simple and effective means of detecting and monitoring malignant disease. The level of serum TK1 in patients with several types of cancer has been shown to correlate with the stage of the disease and repeated measurements also reflect relapses and remissions.…”

“…7 TK1 has also been shown to be of prognostic value in many solid tumors, including breast cancer, prostate cancer, bladder carcinoma and small-cell carcinoma of the lung. 3,6 Serum TK1 levels correlate strongly with cancer stage and its aggressiveness. In this communication, we report that measuring the serum TK1 levels of ALL and AML patients would provide a method for monitoring patient response to treatment in acute leukemic diseases and potentially other non-solid tumors.…”