The diagnostic and prognostic value of pretreatment serum creatine kinase BB levels in patients with neuroblastoma.

The serum levels of the BB isozyme of creatine kinase (CK-BB) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) were measured before therapy in 35 patients with neuroblastoma. Sixty percent (21 of 35) of neuroblastoma patients had CK-BB levels higher than 11 ng/ml. The extent of disease was associated with an increased incidence of elevated serum CK-BB levels. The highest pretreatment serum CK-BB titers were found in patients with Stage IV disease. A strong correlation between the pretreatment CK-BB level and the outcome in patients with neuroblastoma was observed. Eleven (79%) of 12 patients who had a serum CK-BB level greater than 15 ng/ml died, and eight of ten (80%) who had a serum level less than 11 ng/ml were alive and tumor free after 2 years. A positive linear correlation between the pretreatment CK-BB and NSE (n = 35, r = 0.695) levels was found.