[Serum deoxythymidine kinase in adult T-cell leukemia and its related disorders]

Using Prolifigen TK kit "Daiichi", the serum TK level were determined in patients with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and its related disorders. The mean level of serum TK at diagnosis was 279.9 U/l in acute type ATL, 27.8 U/l in chronic type ATL, 59.0 U/l in lymphoma type ATL, 3.1 U/l in pre-ATL and 2.4 U/l in HTLV-I carriers. In these patients, six other kinds of tumor markers such as lactic dehydrogenase, beta 2-microglobulin, immunosuppressive acidic protein, ferritin, tissue polypeptide antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen were also examined. Among the seven tumor markers, TK level showed the most significant difference among clinical subtypes of ATL. This indicates that the TK level is one of the promising parameters indicative of aggressiveness of ATL cells.