Urine diacetylspermine as a novel tumor marker

A urine tumor marker, diacetylspermine, was examined in patients with recurrent pancreato-biliary carcinoma, liver tumor, lung carcinoma and gynecologic malignancies. The urine marker increased together with recurrence, suggesting a recurrence monitoring marker at the outpatient ward. Regarding hepatocellular carcinoma, the sensitivity of the urine marker was as high as conventional markers such as AFP and PIVKA II. Synchronous examination of serum and urine markers showed a higher sensitivity than the single serum or urine marker for hepatocellular carcinoma. The sensitivity for non-advanced hepatocellular carcinoma was 50%, while that for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma was 83%. The urine marker may be useful to detect non-advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The sensitivity for lung cancer was 83% and that for Stage I or II was 82%. Concerning uterine cervical tumor, the value of the urine marker increased with the grade of dysplasia. The sensitivity for ovarian carcinoma was 100%, while that for benign ovarian tumor was 0%. These findings suggest that urine diacetylspermine is a useful tumor marker in hepatocellular carcinoma, lung cancer and gynecologic malignancy as well as pancreatobiliary carcinoma.