Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood test for thymidine kinase 1 helps detect malignant tumors
By Kim, Yoonhee et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2024·College of Veterinary Medicine, South Korea·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serum thymidine kinase 1 protein concentrations and presence of its autoantibody as biomarkers for screening dogs with malignant tumors.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at blood samples from 1,702 dogs to see if a specific protein (thymidine kinase 1, or TK1) and its autoantibody could help detect malignant tumors. The results showed that dogs with malignant tumors had significantly higher levels of the TK1 autoantibody compared to healthy dogs and those with benign tumors. While the TK1 autoantibody could help differentiate between healthy dogs and those with tumors, neither the protein nor the autoantibody was reliable enough on their own to screen for hidden cancers. More research is needed to improve cancer detection in dogs.
People also search for: dog cancer symptoms · how to test for tumors in dogs · thymidine kinase 1 in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: An accurate and easily accessible method for diagnosing malignancies in local veterinary clinics has not yet been established. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the usefulness of serum thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) protein and its autoantibody as tumor biomarkers in dogs. ANIMALS: Serum samples from 1702 dogs were collected from local animal hospitals and referral animal medical centers in South Korea. METHODS: TK1 protein OD value and TK1 autoantibody ratio (TK1 autoantibody OD/total IgG OD) in serum samples of dogs classified into healthy controls, group with nontumor disease, group with benign and group with malignant tumors were measured using lateral flow immunochromatographic assay methods. RESULTS: TK1 autoantibody levels were significantly higher in malignant tumor group (median 0.71) than in healthy controls (median 0.34), group with nontumor disease (median 0.34), and group with benign tumor (median 0.32, Welch t test, P < .0001). They were also significantly different among dogs with carcinomas (median 0.77), hematopoietic tumors (median 0.71), and sarcomas (median 0.56) than in healthy controls (median 0.34, post hoc Games-Howell test, P < .0001). In the receiver operating characteristic curve of TK1 protein, AUC was 0.633 (95% CI: 0.592-0.675, P < .0001). The AUC of TK1 autoantibody ratio was 0.758 (95% CI: 0.723-0.793, P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: TK1 autoantibody is a potentially useful biomarker for differentiating between healthy and tumor-bearing dogs, better than TK1 protein measurement. However, both were inadequate when used as single biomarkers for screening dogs to discover occult malignant tumors.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38088206/