title: Significance of glutathione S-transferase-pi as a tumor marker in patients with oral cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The authors analyzed the clinical usefulness of glutathione-S-transferase-pi (GST-pi) as a tumor marker in patients with oral cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  GST-pi levels in plasma of 61 patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas, 65 patients with benign oral diseases, and 78 healthy subjects were investigated with the sandwich enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Elevated GST-pi levels in plasma were observed in patients with oral cancer, but patients with benign oral diseases had normal GST-pi levels. More than 70% of patients with Stage III or IV oral cancer and more than 50% of those with Stage I and II disease had elevated levels of GST-pi in plasma. Elevated levels of GST-pi in plasma were also discovered in most patients with tumor recurring after surgery before recurrence was detected clinically. GST-pi also was found to be a useful marker for evaluating the response to chemotherapy, for monitoring postoperative tumor resectability or tumor burden, and for predicting the recurrence of tumor in patients with oral cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  GST-pi is considered to be a useful aid for early diagnosis, predicting tumor extent, and determining parameters of treatment efficacy and prognosis for oral cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, Sapporo Medical College, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirata
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Odajima
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kohama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishigaki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niitsu
mesh_terms: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000097:blood; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000201:enzymology; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D012698:Serologic Tests; D015843:Serpins
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D015843:Serpins; C051072:squamous cell carcinoma-related antigen; D005982:Glutathione Transferase