Author/Editor		Ocvirk, J
Title		Katepsin D pri bolnikih z malignim melanomom
Type		monografija
Place		Ljubljana
Publisher		Medicinska fakulteta
Publication year		1995
Volume		str. 53
Language		slo
Abstract		In patients with disseminated melanoma chemotherapy proves to be of limited value. Some patients with systemic dissemination have a poor prognosis, and therefore should not be exposed to the toxic effects of chemotherapy. Since it is difficult to predict the prognosis in individual patients, a reliable and specific tumor marker would be most helpful for the selection and follow-up of those patients that might benefit from chemotherapy. Cathepsin D is an aspartic proteinase present in the lysosomes of almost all tissues. In malignant cells it is also excreted on to the cell surface. Using radiometric immune assay, cathepsin D was determined in 17 healthy volunteers, 54 melanoma patients without evidence of residual or metastatic disease and in 44 patients with metastatic melanoma. Twenty-six patients with metastatic melanoma were treated by chemotherapy. Their treatment response and serum levels of cathepsin D were evaluated after the third cycle of chemotherapy. There were no differences between the serum values of healty donors and those of melanoma patients without evidences of residual or metastatic disease, whereas the relevant values in patients with metastatic melanoma were statistically significantly higher than in the other two groups. As to the metastatic site, no difference has been established between soft tissue and other sites. Serum cathepsin D levels are found to increase by progressing disease while a regression after therapy is associated with unchanged or decreasing values. Our study shows that cathepsin D can be regarded as a useful serum marker for the evaluation of the extend of disease as well as for the follow-up of treatment response in patients with metastatic melanoma.
Descriptors		MELANOMA CATHEPSIN D NEOPLASM METASTASIS