Prediction of Overall Survival by Thymidine Kinase 1 Combined with Prostate-Specific Antigen in Men with Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is an intracellular enzyme involved in DNA-precursor synthesis. Increased serum TK1 levels are used as a biomarker in various malignancies. We combined serum TK1 with PSA and evaluated its capacity to predict overall survival (OS) in 175 men with prostate cancer (PCa), detected by screening in 1988–1989 (n = 52) and during follow-up (median 22.6 years) (n = 123). TK1 was measured in frozen serum, age was stratified into four groups, and dates of PCa diagnosis and dates of death were obtained from Swedish population-based registries. The median concentration of TK1 and PSA was 0.25 and 3.8 ng/ml. TK1 was an independent variable of OS. In the multivariate analysis, PSA was not statistically significant in combination with age whereas the significance remained for TK1 + PSA. Measured once, TK1 + PSA predicted a difference of up to 10 years (depending on patient subgroup) in OS at a median of 9 years before PCa diagnosis. The TK1 concentration in 193 controls without malignancies did not differ from that of the PCa patients, hence TK1 was likely not released from incidental PCa. Thus, TK1 in the blood circulation may indicate the release of TK1 from sources other than cancers, nonetheless associated with OS.

A comprehensive analysis and experimental validation of TK1 in uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma

“…TK1 might be secreted from tumor cells that are growing actively. Elevated TK1 levels can be detected in both hematologic malignancies and solid tumors 16 . TK1 has been proved to be a new biomarker in several cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma 17 , prostate cancer 18 , melanoma 19 , and breast cancer 20 et al In addition, TK1 combined with HE4 and CA125 showed a better diagnostic performance in ovarian cancer 21 , 22 .…”

An Energy-Efficient Test and Predictive Model for Recurrence After Radiotherapy in Localized Intermediate and Advanced Cervical Cancer Were Created Using Thymidine Kinase 1 in Conjunction with Inflammatory Markers and Tumor Markers

“…One of the essential enzymes for DNA synthesis in tumor cells is thymidine kinase 1 (TK1), which is strongly associated with cell proliferation and has thus far been crucial in determining the effectiveness of many malignancies. [9][10][11][12] Less research has been done on serum TK1 to determine whether cervical cancer that is intermediate or advanced will return following radiotherapy. To predict the recurrence of cervical cancer after radiotherapy, this study developed an innovative nomogram model based on inflammatory factors, serum TK1, and tumor markers and compared its predictive power to that of the TNM staging system and SCC.…”