The data presented in this study demonstrate that chondrocyte apoptosis is positively associated with degree of cartilage matrix damage and that the extent of apoptosis varies with cartilage zones and mechanical loading environment of the joint.
Preoperative serum levels of the tumor markers CA 50, CA 19‐9, CA 19‐9 TruQuant, CA 72‐4, CA 195, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) were measured in 94 patients with well‐staged adenocarcinoma of the stomach and in 15 patients with benign gastric diseases. In all patients with carcinoma, a laparotomy was done. The serum levels were correlated with the stage of disease, the location of the primary tumor, and the resectability and grade of differentiation. The marker CA 50 was the best, with an overall positivity of 59.5%. For CA 19‐9, this figure was 34%; for CA 19‐9 TruQuant, 22%; for CA 72‐4, 34%; for CA 195, 29%; for CEA, 33%; and for TPA, 50%. The best combination of two markers was CA 50 and TPA; this combination gave a positivity of 81%. There was no evident correlation with stage of disease and the percentage of positive serum levels or the median serum levels. The marker CA 50 gave the widest range of elevated serum levels between the cutoff level and the 90th percentile (54%). Patients with carcinoma of the cardia had higher preoperative serum levels than those with a tumor in other parts of the stomach. There was no correlation with the respectability of the tumor and the preoperative serum level. Patients with an undifferentiated tumors did not have significantly lower serum levels than those with more differentiated tumors. Currently, preoperative determination of serum tumor marker levels in patients with gastric carcinoma has no significance in clinical practice.
In the search for a method to facilitate the preoperative discrimination of ovarian carcinomas from colorectal carcinomas serum levels of 6 tumor markers were measured in 47 patients presenting with ovarian cancer and compared to levels found in 24 female patients with advanced, untreated colorectal cancer. The markers studied were CA 125, CA 15.3, CA 19.9, CEA and two recently developed mucin markers, CA M29 and CA M26. Levels of CA 125, CA 15.3, CEA and CA M29 showed significant differences between both groups. In predicting ovarian cancer, sensitivity was highest for CA 125 at 94% (35 U/ml cutoff level). However, the specificity of CA 125 was at 71% low. Specificity increased significantly by using a combination of a CA 125-positive score ( > 35 U/ml) and a simultaneous negative CEA score (≤ 5 ng/ml) (specificity 100%, sensitivity 81 %). A CA 125/CEA serum ratio > 25 resulted in the highest discriminative power with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 91 % resulting in an overall test accuracy of 94%. It is concluded that the serum tumor markers used, especially a combination of CA 125 and CEA, are helpful in the preoperative differential diagnosis between adenocarcinomas of ovarian and colorectal origin.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.