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The pregnancy-associated α2-glycoprotein (α2-PAG) A tumour marker?

Das schwangerschaftsassoziierta α2-Glykoprotein — ein Tumormarker?

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Summary

Long-term studies of α2-PAG in sera of patients with breast cancer, bronchial carcinoma, gynaecological carcinoma, melanoma and laryngeal carcinoma have proved that α2-PAG is a possible laboratory parameter for the assessment of recurrence of tumour and metastasis. The results published for trophoblastic tumour and gastrointestinal carcinoma are still divergent. Because of the large individual range of α2-PAG concentrations and the widely differing α2-PAG levels in men and women single determinations of this protein are without value. A detailed classification of the pathological mechanisms to which these proteins are submitted is still missing and consequently we have no fundamental knowledge of diseases that apart from pregnancy and neoplasia lead to changes in the physiological α2-PAG serum concentration.

Zusammenfassung

Im Rahmen von Longitudinalstudien haben sich α2-PAG-Bestimmungen im Serum von Patienten mit Mammakarzinom, Bronchialkarzinom, gynäkologischem Karzinom, Kehlkopfkarzinom oder Melanom als ein möglicher laborchemischer Parameter erwiesen, um Aussagen über die eingeschlagene Therapie, Tumorrezidive und Metastasen zu machen. Bei trophoblastischen Tumoren und Gastrointestinalkarzinomen sind die bisher publizierten Ergebnisse noch divergierend. Wegen der großen individuellen Strubreite der α2-PAG-Konzentrationen und wegen der stark unterschiedlichen α2-PAG-Spiegel bei Männern und Frauen sind Einzelbestimmungen dieses Proteins ohne Wert. Es fehlt noch eine detaillierte Abklärung über die Pathomechanismen, denen dieses Protein unterliegt, und damit die grundlegende Kenntnis über die Veränderungen, bei denen es neben Schwangerschaft und Neoplasien zu Änderungen des physiologischen α2-PAG-Serummusters kommt.

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  1. Urologische Klinik und Poliklinik der Universität München, Klinikum Großhadern, Germany

    H. W. Bauer

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  1. H. W. Bauer
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Dedicated to Prof. Dr. E. Schmiedt to his 60th birthday (20th of November 1980)

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Bauer, H.W. The pregnancy-associated α2-glycoprotein (α2-PAG) A tumour marker?. Klin Wochenschr 59, 149–155 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01477474

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01477474

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