title: Radioimmunoassay of hCG as an early diagnosis of cerebral metastases in choriocarcinoma patients.
abstract: To determine the early cerebral involvement of choriocarcinoma, the following studies were employed. By comparing hCG titers in measurements of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hCG-beta through radioimmunoassay (RIA), serum/CSF ratios of titers were calculated in patients with normal pregnancies and in those with trophoblastic neoplasia. In normal pregnancies, the mean ratio of serum/CSF hCG was more than 45.5 +/- 6.0 (mean +/- SEM):1. In neoplasia without metastases to the brain, the ratio was more than 41.0:1. However, 2 patients with cerebral choriocarcinoma showed low ratios of 23.0:1 and 20.9:1, respectively. This suggests that determination of the beta-hCG concentration ratio of serum to CSF using RIA might give a more reliable evaluation for the early detection of choriocarcinoma metastasized to the brain.
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary*; D002822:Choriocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D006828:Hydatidiform Mole / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D011247:Pregnancy; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin