Thymidine kinase: diagnostic and prognostic potential.

Thymidine kinase is a cell cycle-dependent marker that can be detected in the serum of patients diagnosed with many different types of cancer. Serum levels of thymidine kinase have also been shown to reflect the progression of cancer as well as an indication of the efficacy of chemotherapeutic intervention. A new monoclonal antibody assay for thymidine kinase has been developed, which is capable of detecting thymidine kinase in both serum and tumor tissue. Thymidine kinase assay kits should be available at low cost and could serve as an effective low cost test for the detection and progression of many types of human cancer.