New sarcoma publication in Anticancer Research
An article has recently been published in Anticancer Research. Thymidine Kinase 1 (TK1) protein was measured in patients with soft tissue sarcomas (STS) to investigate if TK1 could be used as a biomarker for STS.
Soft tissue Sarcomas are an unusual indication, and there are no recommended biomarkers for early-stage diagnosis. STS differs in many ways from cancers that originate from the epithelium or blood. Sarcoma originates from the body's connective tissue, cartilage, fat, muscles, or bones. The disease can affect both children and adults, which is rarely the case for epithelial cancer. The epithelium is the outermost cell layer against the body's cavities, such as the ducts in the breast or prostate.
The article “Serum Concentration of Thymidine Kinase 1 (TK1) as a Tumor Marker in Soft Tissue Sarcomas” by Sari Jaamaa et.al., based on an exploratory study, where serum samples were collected from 48 patients with STS and TK1 protein levels were measured by TK 210 ELISA. In pre-operative patients, 38% (18 patients) had shown TK1 protein levels higher than the upper limit (95% CI) of healthy individuals (0.41 μg / l). After surgery, serum TK1 protein levels were significantly reduced in 12 patients with high pre-operative TK1 (>0.41 μg / l). In Summary with these small patient study group, the use of TK1 protein as a biomarker for early diagnosis of STS is limited, but a large patient group could provide more conclusive information about the clinical utility of TK1 in STS. However, AroCell will continue to focus on the clinical application of TK 210 ELISA in epithelial cancers such as breast and prostate cancers.