title: Serum hepatocyte growth factor as a marker of tumor activity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has previously been reported to be elevated in the serum of patients with malignancy, including breast, colorectal and gastric cancers. Here, we evaluated the correlation between serum HGF and the progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The mean serum HGF levels in 71 healthy control subjects, 78 patients with primary HNSCC, and eight patients with recurrent HNSCC were 0.538+/-0.163, 0.701+/-0.252, and 0.925+/-0.349ng/ml, respectively. The increase in the HGF level was significantly correlated with tumor stage progression. The HGF level had decreased to normal at 1 month after curative resection of the tumors. During follow-up for several months, the HGF level significantly increased in recurrent HNSCC patients, whereas there was no increase in nonrecurrent patients. Our data suggest that serum HGF is significantly corrected with tumor progression and may be a strong predictor of recurrence in HNSCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Ajou University, 5 Wonchon-Dong, Yeongtong-Gu, Suwon 442-749, Republic of Korea. ostium@ajou.ac.kr
authors.forename: Chul-Ho
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Jin Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sung-Ook
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Joon-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Sung Pyo
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Hison
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kahng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood* / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000601:surgery; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000097:blood; D009367:Neoplasm Staging
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D017228:Hepatocyte Growth Factor