Urinary Neopterin in Patients with upper Gastrointestinal, Biliary and Pancreatic Carcinomas

Abstract

Abstract Increased urinary neopterin has been associated with advanced disease and poor prognosis in patients with colorectal carcinoma, but less is known about urinary neopterin in other gastrointestinal tumors. We have investigated urinary neopterin in 53 patients with carcinomas of the upper gastrointestinal tract, pancreas and biliary tract. Conipared to controls, urinary neopterin was increased in patients with gastric carcinoma, pancreatic Carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma. Urinary neopterin was a significant prognostic indicator of survival in univariate as well as multivariate analyses. No significant change in urinary neopterin concentrations was observed during the short follow-up, but increased urinary neopterin concentration at the end of followup was associated with poor prognosis. In conclusion, significantly increased urinary neopterin concentrations were observed in the present cohort of patients. Urinary neopterin is an independent prognostic indicator in patients with carcinomas of the upper gastrointestinal tract, biliary tree and pancreas.