Abstract
Tumor-associated trypsin inhibitor (TATI) is a fairly specific serum marker for mucinous ovarian cancer. Very high levels occur in mucinous ovarian cyst fluid, indicating that the elevated levels of TATI in serum are derived from the tumor. However, elevated levels of TATI may also occur in inflammatory disease and after major surgery, suggesting that TATI may also behave as an acute-phase reactant. To further elucidate these questions we have measured the concentration of TATI in urine before and after intracavitary radiotherapy in 13 patients with cervical cancer and 29 patients with endometrial cancer. In 11 patients the concentrations of serum TATI and C-reactive protein (CRP) were also measured. The treatment caused a moderate but significant elevation in the urinary concentration of TATI but affected the serum levels of TATI and CRP only occasionally. The apparent discrepancy between the changes in serum and urine levels of TATI may be explained by the very short (6 min) half-life of TATI in serum. Our results indicate that the mechanisms causing elevation of TATI in urine and of CRP in serum are different. TATI appears to react more rapidly to radiation-induced tissue destruction, whereas CRP is a much more sensitive indicator of bacterial infections.
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