title: Beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity: assessment of blood levels in patients with tumors of different origin.
abstract: Beta-endorphin-like immunoreactivity (beta-ELIR) blood levels in control subjects and in patients with different carcinoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma tumor types, were found within the same range, with the exception of one carcinoma type. This pertained to a group of patients with small cell lung cancer who had a significantly higher median beta-ELIR level compared to controls. This finding, and the fact that proopiomelanocortin expression is enhanced in tissues of this cancer type, suggest that the latter might secrete elevated beta-ELIR amounts into the blood of the affected patients.
authors.affiliation: Endorphin Laboratories, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pasi
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Amsler
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Messiha
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001615:beta-Endorphin