A clinical evaluation of the TK 210 ELISA in sera from breast cancer patients demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity in all stages of disease.

Thymidine kinase (TK1) is an enzyme involved in DNA synthesis that leaks into the blood as a result of high cell turnover, particularly in the case of cancer. Serum TK1 activity has been used for prognosis and monitoring of leukemia and lymphoma patients for many years. Here, we describe the first clinical results with the newly developed TK 210 ELISA from AroCell AB. Sera from 124 breast cancer patients with known TNM classification along with sera from 53 healthy females were analyzed by TK 210 ELISA for TK1 protein and TK1 activity levels by the 3[H]-deoxythymidine (dThd) phosphorylation assay. The limit of detection for the TK 210 ELISA was 0.17 ng/ml, and 60 % of the sera from female blood donors were below this value. The median TK1 levels found in sera from breast cancer patients with T1 to T4 stage disease were 0.31, 0.46, 0.47, and 0.55 ng/ml, and these levels significantly differed from healthy controls. The median values of the biomarker CA 15-3 were also increased in patient sera from T1 to T4 patients (16, 34, 36, 40 U/ml, respectively). TK 210 ELISA showed significantly higher sensitivity for the T1 and T2 breast cancer patients compared to the TK activity assay. The combination of the TK1 ELISA and CA 15-3 biomarkers demonstrated a significant increase in sensitivity up to 15 % compared to each marker alone. This evaluation of the TK 210 ELISA strongly suggests that it can provide independent and complementary information for patients with breast cancer.

Transmission electron microscopic analysis of trabecular meshwork in secondary glaucoma after intravitreal silicone oil injection.

PURPOSE: We analyzed morphological changes in trabecular meshwork in glaucoma developing after intravitreal silicone oil injection with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). METHODS: Specimens obtained from 2 patients after surgical trabeculectomy were fixed in McDowell fixative in one patient and in buffered formaldehyde in the other, dehydrated and embedded in Epon. Ultrathin sections were made and stained with lead citrate and uranyl acetate for TEM. RESULTS: In specimens mainly connective tissue sheets with disorganized and narrowed intertrabecular spaces were observed. At higher magnification the collagen sheets were composed of interstitial collagen and some of them were covered by amorphous basal membrane structures resembling material. Cellular remnants were present along the intertrabecular spaces. No other cells or clearly evident silicone oil were noted. CONCLUSION: Changes such as decrease in cell content, fibrosis and build-up of basement membrane-like material have been described by other authors. They are not specific and can be seen in many secondary glaucomas. No macrophages and foreign-body granulomas in response to silicone oil were present. The pathological changes in angle structures are probably caused by other mechanisms and are not induced by silicone oil itself.