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Vol.40 No.3 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Original Article -
Usefulness of Type I Collagen N-Terminal Telopeptide (NTx) in the Diagnosis of Bone Metastasis from Lung Cancer
Hiroyuki Nakamura, Toshio Hashimoto*, Hisanaga Yagyu, Gen Sarashina, Fumihiro Tsuchida, Hideki Adachi, Koji Kishi, Syuji Oishi, Ken Matsuoka and Kousuke Kashiwabara**Fifth Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Medical University, *Respiratory Department, Mito Saiseikai Hospital, **Respiratory Department, Taragi Municipal Hospital
Objective: Although bone metastasis from lung cancer is generally revealed by bone scintigraphy, this diagnostic method has many shortcomings, such as false positive results, high cost, limited availability to certain institutes, flare phenomenon, and difficulty in evaluating therapeutic responses of bone metastatic lesions. In recent years, development of new bone metabolic markers has dramatically advanced. In the present study, we evaluated the usefulness of Type I collagen N-terminal telopeptide (NTx), a metabolite of type I collagen, for the diagnosis of bone metastasis from lung cancer. Methods and Results: The mean urinary NTx level was112.7±83.9 nM BCE/mM Cr in lung cancer patients with bone metastasis, whereas lung cancer patients without bone metastasis had a significantly lower level (p<0.001). In patients who could be followed up, the urinary NTx levels significantly increased as bone metastasis progressed (p=0.008). The NTx levels at the time of detection of bone metastasis during follow up were significantly higher than those observed at initial examination (p=0.028). Conclusions: NTx is useful for auxiliary diagnosis of bone metastasis, and can quantify bone metastasis with some accuracy. This marker is also thought to be an auxiliary parameter for the evaluation of progression of bone metastasis.
key words: Lung cancer, Bone metastasis, Type I collagen C-terminal telopeptide (ICTP), Type I collagen N-terminal telopeptide (NTx)
Received: December 20, 1999
Accepted: March 8, 2000
JJLC 40 (3): 179-184, 2000
