Evaluation Of Plasma-Levels Of Thymidine Kinase And Mutated P53 In 81 Patients With Newly-Diagnosed Malignant-Lymphoma

We analysed diagnostic phase plasma levels of thymidine kinase (TK) and mutated p53 in 81 patients with malignant lymphoma. Forty-three (53%) patients had increased (>10 U/l) TK activity whereas 30 (37%) were positive for the mutated p53 gene product. In general, patients with p53 mutation positive tumors tended to have higher TK activity than those without. Furthermore, patients with high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) showed almost a linear correlation (r(s) = 0.79) between plasma levels of mutated p53 and TK. We conclude that the monoclonal antibody assisted detection of mutated p53 gene product may prove a useful adjunct to the diagnostic procedures of malignant lymphomas.