[Evaluation of urinary polyamines in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma]

A new and simple enzymatic assay utilizing an acylpolyamine amidohydrolase and putrescine oxidase was adopted for measuring urinary polyamines (U-Pa). Serum carcinoembryonic antigen (S-CEA) was determined for comparison. The study population consisted of patients with pathologically proven nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who were referred to Kaohsiung Medical College Hospital. We found that polyamine levels were markedly elevated during radiotherapy but declined when the treatment was completed. Thus mean polyamines and the positive rate of polyamine elevation was higher in patients suffering from an active stage of the disease than in patients whose cancer had stabilized. However, the level of carcinoembryonic antigen was not elevated whilst undergoing radiotherapy. Therefore, routine measurement of polyamine levels may have a clinical utility in monitoring the disease state of the tumor. However, the low sensitivity of U-Pa test (22%) precludes its use as an effective screening method for this condition. Nevertheless, because of its simplicity, convenience and rapidity for monitoring NPC, U-Pa test should be considered a valuable tool in the clinical investigation of NPC patients.