title: [Diagnostic usefulness of neurospecific enolase determination in pleural fluid].
abstract: To investigate the diagnostic usefulness of the measurement of neurospecific enolase (NSE) in pleural fluid 116 consecutive patients with pleural effusion were prospectively evaluated. In 95 of them, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was also measured for comparative purposes. The habit of smoking did not apparently influence the NSE levels. In the 43 malignant effusions the mean value of NSE (25.0 +/- 27.4) was significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than in benign effusions (8.7 +/- 7.1). The values above 12 ng/ml had a sensitivity of 51% for malignancy, with a specificity of only 74%. The specific sensitivity of NSE was lower than that of CEA; neither individually nor as a whole these markers modified the diagnostic yield of cytology (67%). The mean value of NSE in tuberculous pleural effusions (14.4 +/- 8.3), different from that found in malignancies (p less than 0.05), was significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than that found in other benign diseases (6.2 +/- 4.7). The results of this study demonstrate the nonspecific character of an increased level of NSE, and the low diagnostic yield of this enzyme as a pleural tumour marker.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izquierdo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mauri
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martín
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Almenar
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Padilla
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000032:analysis*; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000201:enzymology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase
vernacular_title: Utilidad diagnóstica de la determinación de la enolasa neuroespecífica en líquido pleural.