Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0027627 (metastases)
 103,950 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The serum catalytic concentration of alpha-L-fucosidase (AFU) was measured to evaluate its usefulness for the diagnosis of hepatocarcinoma (HPC). Fifty-one patients with hepatocarcinoma, 30 with hepatic metastases, 40 with hepatic cirrhosis, 22 with other hepatic diseases and 48 healthy individuals were evaluated. The values of serum AFU were significantly higher in all groups (p less than 0.001), than in the reference group; there were also significant differences between those with HPC and hepatic cirrhosis (p less than 0.01), and between HPC and other hepatic diseases (p less than 0.05). The highest effectiveness of the test was achieved with a catalytic concentration of serum AFU of 210 nKat/l, with a 37% sensitivity and a 91% specificity. When the AFU measurement was used concomitantly with that of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) for the diagnosis of HPC, sensitivity increased to 72% when AFI or AFP were elevated, and specificity reached 99% when both were increased. We think that the measurement of serum AFU may be helpful for the diagnosis of hepatocarcinoma.
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PMID:[Value of the serum measurement of alpha-L-fucosidase in the diagnosis of hepatocarcinoma]. 247 45

Colorectal cancer remains a major medical problem and survival of the patients is directly correlated to the possibility of metastases occurrence. We searched for biochemical differences between colorectal adenocarcinomas and their precursor normal cells with the aim of complementing histological methods for the classification and prognosis of human colorectal tumours. Increased fucosylation is one of the most common phenomena associated with malignant transformation, invasion and metastases. It might be expected that the enzyme alpha-L-fucosidase (alpha-L-fucosidase fucohydrolase E.C.3.2.1.51), involved in the breakdown of fucose-containing glycoproteins and glycolipids, would play an important role in the maintenance of the fucose content of aberrant fucosylated glycoconjugates. Statistical evaluation of 110 patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma has shown that there is a significant decrease of alpha-L-fucosidase activity in the malignant tissue compared with the healthy colonic mucosa of the same patient. Characterisation studies have shown that there are remarkable similarities in the physicochemical and kinetic properties of the enzyme in both tissues. Using an immunodetection assay we conclude that the observed decrease of alpha-L-fucosidase activity is due to a significant decrease of alpha-L-fucosidase protein in colorectal tumours. Our results further demonstrate that the alpha-L-fucosidase content (either as enzymatic activity or as enzymatic protein) is lower in primary tumours at advanced stages (Dukes' B and C) than in primaries at early stages (Dukes' A).
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PMID:Low levels of alpha-L-fucosidase activity in colorectal cancer are due to decreased amounts of the enzymatic protein and are related with Dukes' stage. 2154 79