[A study on tumor marker of tissue-polypeptide-antigen (TPA) in gynecologic malignancies]

Tissue polypeptide-antigen (TPA), a tumor-associated antigen reported by Bjorklund et al., is a single chain polypeptide of approximately 22,000-45,000 molecular weight, which is being studied in various fields as a tumor marker. We determined the serum TPA level and tissue distribution of TPA in patients with gynecologic malignancies and healthy women. In healthy women, the serum TPA level was under 110 mu/l, without any relation to age or sex. In benign tumors, the mean serum TPA was 123.9 mu/l and it is comparable with that in healthy women. In cervical cancers, it was 212 mu/l and significantly higher than those in healthy women and in patients with benign tumors (p less than 0.01). In ovarian cancers, it was 414.7 mu/l, which showed significantly higher levels of serum TPA in ovarian cancers than those in healthy women and in patients with benign tumor, and it was also significantly higher than that in cervical cancers (p less than 0.001). As for the values after treatment, the serum TPA level clearly tended to fall in patients exhibiting good response, and tended to rise in those showing poor response. TPA was markedly localized in the cancer cells, but was almost entirely absent from the normal tissues of the cervix and endometrium.