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No. 51 (PH 17)
Serum Thymidine Kinase 1 as a Potential Marker for Aggressive Behavior in
Patients with B-cell Lymphoma
Heyjin Kim, Jin Kyung Lee, Young Jun Hong, Seok-Il Hong, and Yoon Hwan Chang
Department of Laboratory Medicine, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea
Aim: B-cell lymphoma comprises a heterogeneous group of lymphoproliferative malignancies with
various clinical and biological features. The cell cycle-dependent enzyme, thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) has
been known as one of the markers of cancer cell proliferation and had been reported as a prognostic
factor in various solid tumors and CLL. The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of TK1 as a
biomarker for aggressive behavior in patients with B-cell lymphoma.
Methods: A total of 52 patients with previously untreated B-cell lymphoma (25 women, 27 men; age,
14-86 years; median age, 62.5 years) and 43 healthy control subjects were enrolled in this study. TK1
level in serum were measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay (LIAISON ® , DiaSorin, USA).
Results: The 95 percentile reference range for serum TK1 in healthy controls was 4.5-18.6 U/L. There
was a clear difference in mean TK level was shown between patients and healthy controls (46.8 ± 79.0
vs. 9.9 ± 3.9 U/L, P = 0.003). The mean TK1 level of patients with bone marrow involvement was
significantly elevated compared with that of patients without bone marrow involvement (128.8 +± 144.1
vs. 29.6 ± 43.3 U/L, P=0.002). The mean TK1 level in the clinical stage III and IV group was
significantly higher than that of the clinical stage I and II (85.1 ± 109.8 vs. 20.8 ± 28.9 U/L, P=0.016)
group. The increased TK1 level at the time of diagnosis was correlated with the advanced clinical stage
(P=0.000), international prognostic index score (P = 0.001), B symptoms (P = 0.035), hemoglobin level
below 12.0 g/dL (P=0.004), and lactate dehydrogenase level above 480 U/L (P=0.000).
Conclusions: These findings indicate an association between serum TK1 level and aggressive behavior
of B-cell lymphoma. Therefore, the TK1 level could serve as a valuable prognostic marker in patients
with B-cell lymphoma.
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