Abstract
Pretreatment serum levels of neurone specific enolase (NSE) were measured in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Median values were significantly higher in patients with extensive compared with limited stage disease (48 ng ml-1 v. 17 ng ml-1: P less than 0.001). Serial NSE levels paralleled the clinical response to treatment. In 37 patients with limited SCLC, receiving identical chemotherapy, the pretreatment NSE level was of prognostic significance: with an approximate reduction in median survival of 10% for each 5 ng ml-1 incremental rise in NSE (P = 0.004).
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Harding, M., McAllister, J., Hulks, G. et al. Neurone specific enolase (NSE) in small cell lung cancer: a tumour marker of prognostic significance?. Br J Cancer 61, 605–607 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1990.134
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1990.134
This article is cited by
-
Prognostic significance of serum neuron-specific enolase in small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder
World Journal of Urology (2017)
-
Survival and prognostic factors in small cell lung cancer
Medical Oncology (2010)
-
Serum neuron-specific enolase and immunohistochemical markers of neuroendocrine differentiation in lung cancer
Irish Journal of Medical Science (1995)