Abstract
Purpose
Metallothioneins (MTs) have been disclosed as a useful diagnostic factor for tumour progression and drug resistance in a variety of malignancies. Increased levels of MT in blood serum have been found in patients with several types of cancer, but there is no available information on serum MT levels in patients with testicular germ cell tumour (TGCT). The aim of the study was to determine MT levels in serum of patients with TGCT and to evaluate the portion of platinum (Pt) that binds to MT after cisplatin administration since MTs could be involved in drug resistance.
Methods
Concentration of total MT was determined in serum of 25 men with newly diagnosed TGCT by differential pulse voltammetry. The fractionation of serum was carried out by size exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC), while concentration of Pt in collected fractions was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
Results
Concentration of serum MT was significantly higher in TGCT patients than in healthy volunteers. The results of SE-HPLC analysis showed that only a small amount of Pt was bound to proteins in the area of MT elution.
Conclusions
Significant increase in MT levels in individuals with TGCT indicates certain health problem and, in combination with other commonly used diagnostic tools, could improve early diagnosis.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports (Grant Number 022-0222411-2408).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical standard
All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of institutional ethics committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Tariba, B., Živković, T., Krasnići, N. et al. Serum metallothionein in patients with testicular cancer. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 75, 813–820 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-015-2702-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-015-2702-2