title: Serum cathepsin-B levels and urinary-excretion of cathepsin-B in the patients with colorectal-cancer - possible indicators for tumor malignancy.
abstract: Serum cathepsin B levels and urinary excretion of cathepsin B in patients with colorectal cancers were significantly higher than those in the control non-cancer patients. Moreover, cancer tissue cathepsin B content was significantly higher than that in the normal tissue. After radical curative operations for colorectal cancers, both the serum cathepsin B levels and urinary excretion of cathepsin B were restored to the control values. These results suggest a possible role of lysosomal enzyme, cathepsin B, in the pathogenesis of tumor growth, and also suggest that these parameters might be possible indicators for tumor malignancy.
authors.affiliation: TAKEUCHI DENT CLIN,EHIME,JAPAN.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeuchi