Noriaki Yohkoh

Clinical evaluation of urinary 6-hydroxymethylpterin (6-HMP) in patients with cancer of the digestive organs

The purpose of this study is to clarify the clinical significance of urinary 6-HMP in patients with cancer of the digestive organs. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine 6-HMP in first morning urine. Conclusions were as follows:1.Cut off level of urinary 6-HMP was defined as 0.079 μg/ml, from 87 normal subjects.2.The daily profile of urinary 6-HMP in normal subjects was highest in morning and lowest at bedtime and daily changes were continuously under the cut off level.3.Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of urinary 6-HMP were 64.2%, 77.6% and 70.5% respectively.4.In patients with malignant diseases, the overall positive rate was 64.2% and was clearly higher than benign diseases.5.The positive rate of urinary 6-HMP levels in malignant diseases was highest in pancreatic cancer (75.0%) and lowest in hepatocellular carcinoma (55.8%).6.Urinary 6-HMP elevated several days after operation and returned within normal range after 2–3 weeks.7.Urinary 6-HMP concentration correlated to the therapeutic effects of anticancer drugs, and increased again in tumor recurrence.