Markers kallikreins

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA, hK3) and, more recently, human glandular kallikrein 2 (hK2) are used as tumor markers for prostate cancer. Several... 

The association of kallikreins with cancer is well established. PSA (hK3) and, more recently, human glandular kallikrein (hK2) are useful biomarkers for prostate cancer. A more detailed discussion about hK2 and hK3 as cancer biomarkers can be found elsewhere [31]. In addition to its established role in prostate cancer diagnosis and monitoring, recent reports indicate that hK3 can be useful as a marker for breast cancer prognosis [215],... 

Yousef GM, Diamandis EP. An overview of the kallikrein gene families in humans and other species Emerging candidate tumour markers small star, filled. Clin Biochem 2003 36 443-452. 

Stenman UH. New ultrasensitive assays facilitate studies on the role of human glandular kallikrein (hK2) as a marker for prostatic disease [editorial comment], Clin Chem 1999 45 753-754. 

Mikolajczyk SD, Millar LS, Marker KM, et al. Ala217 is important for the catalytic function and autoactivation of prostate-specific human kallikrein 2. Eur J Biochem 1997 246 440 146. 

Stephan C, Jung K, Diamandis EP, Rittenhouse HG, Lein M, Loening SA. Prostate-specific antigen, its molecular forms, and other kallikrein markers for detection of prostate cancer. Urology 2002 59 2-8. 

Yousef GM, Scorilas A, Magklara A, et al. The androgen-regulated gene human kallikrein 15 (KLK15) is an independent and favourable prognostic marker for breast cancer. Br J Cancer 2002 87 1294-1300. 

Luo L, Bunting P, Scorilas A, Diamandis EP. Human kallikrein 10 A novel tumor marker for ovarian carcinoma Clin Chim Acta 2001 306 111-118. 

Yousef GM, Kyriakopoulou LG, Scorilas A, et al. Quantitative expression of the human kallikrein gene 9 (KLK9) in ovarian cancer A new independent and favorable prognostic marker. Cancer Res 2001 61 7811-7818. 

Scorilas A, Borgono CA, Harbeck N, et al. Human kallikrein 13 protein in ovarian cancer cytosols A new favorable prognostic marker. J Clin Oncol 2004 22 678-685. 

With few exceptions, an increase in the activity or mass of an enzyme or isoenzyme is not specific or sensitive enough to be used for identifying the type of cancer or the specific organ involvement. An exception is PSA. PSA has mild protease activity and amino acid sequence homology with serine protease of the kallikrein family.It is expressed by normal, benign, hyperplastic, and cancerous prostate glands and minimally by other tissue. Until the application of PSA as a marker for prostate cancer, tumor enzymes had lost most of their popularity for use as cancer markers. Enzymes were used historically as tumor markers before the discovery of oncofetal antigens and the advent of monoclonal antibodies. The abnormalities of enzymes as a marker for cancer are either the expression of the fetal form of the enzyme (isozyme) or the ectopic production of enzymes. 

---