BACKGROUND: Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is a biomarker elevated in several malignancies, including lung cancer. Up-regulation of TK1 is an early event in carcinogenesis and therefore a target for early cancer detection. We have developed a novel Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to detect TK1 in serum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients with pulmonary nodules and 18 healthy individuals had their serum collected prior to surgery. All samples were analyzed using a radioassay and ELISA. RESULTS: TK1 was significantly elevated in all lung cancer samples. Patients with stage I (n=16) and stage II (n=17) disease had significantly higher TK1 levels than controls. The area under the curve was 0.792, using 4.9 nM TK1 as cut-off, for early-stage lung cancer. The sensitivity and specificity were 75.0 and 83.3, respectively. TK1 concentration was a more sensitive and accurate indicator of lung cancer than TK1 activity. CONCLUSION: TK1 is significantly elevated in serum from patients with stage I and stage II lung cancer as measured using the established ELISA. This novel TK1 ELISA is both sensitive and specific for the detection of early-stage and advanced lung cancer, and therefore may be an important tool in the management of this disease.
BACKGROUND:Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is a biomarker elevated in several malignancies, including lung cancer. Up-regulation of TK1 is an early event in carcinogenesis and therefore a target for early cancer detection. We have developed a novel Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to detect TK1 in serum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients with pulmonary nodules and 18 healthy individuals had their serum collected prior to surgery. All samples were analyzed using a radioassay and ELISA. RESULTS:TK1 was significantly elevated in all lung cancer samples. Patients with stage I (n=16) and stage II (n=17) disease had significantly higher TK1 levels than controls. The area under the curve was 0.792, using 4.9 nM TK1 as cut-off, for early-stage lung cancer. The sensitivity and specificity were 75.0 and 83.3, respectively. TK1 concentration was a more sensitive and accurate indicator of lung cancer than TK1 activity. CONCLUSION:TK1 is significantly elevated in serum from patients with stage I and stage II lung cancer as measured using the established ELISA. This novel TK1 ELISA is both sensitive and specific for the detection of early-stage and advanced lung cancer, and therefore may be an important tool in the management of this disease.
Authors: Evita G Weagel; Wei Meng; Michelle H Townsend; Edwin J Velazquez; Rachel A Brog; Michael W Boyer; K Scott Weber; Richard A Robison; Kim L O'Neill Journal: Onco Targets Ther Date: 2017-09-06 Impact factor: 4.147
Authors: Evita G Weagel; Weston Burrup; Roman Kovtun; Edwin J Velazquez; Abigail M Felsted; Michelle H Townsend; Zachary E Ence; Erica Suh; Stephen R Piccolo; K Scott Weber; Richard A Robison; Kim L O'Neill Journal: Cancer Cell Int Date: 2018-09-10 Impact factor: 5.722