Clinical Evaluation of Serum Neuron-Specific Enolase as a Tumor Marker for Lung Cancer

Abstract

In order to evaluate clinical significance of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) as a tumor marker, serum levels were measured in 82 previously untreated patients with lung cancer. The positive rates of NSE in small cellung cancer (SCLC) and in non-small cell lung cancer (non-SCLC) were 76.3% and 40.9%, respectively. Mean NSE level was 33.3ng/ml for patients with SCLC and 10.9ng/ml for patients with non-SCLC: The difference was statistically significant (p<0.01). As for the extent of disease in SCLC, NSE level was significantly higher in patients with extensive disease than in those with limited disease (p<0.01). Serum NSE levels in SCLC excellently correlated with clinical responses: NSE levels promptly returned to normal after chemotherapy in the majority of responders and re-elevated at the time of disease progression or relapse. Furthermore, re-elevation was observed prior to relapse in a considerable proportion of complete responders. In conclusion, serial measurement of serum NSE in patients with SCLC was considered to be very useful for the evaluation of response and for the prediction of relapse, as well.