Neuron-specific enolase (NSE) is a so-called tumor marker:Tumor markers are endogenous substances produced by tumors and detectable in the blood. They can provide an indication of a malignant (malignant) neoplasm and are used as a follow-up test in cancer aftercare.
The procedure
Material needed
- Blood serum; to avoid hemolysis, the blood should be centrifuged after clotting and the serum pipetted off
- CSF (cerebrospinal fluid)
Preparation of the patient
- Not necessary
Disruptive factors
- None known
Normal value
| Adult | <12.5 μg/l |
| Infants (< 1 year of age) | <25 μg/l |
Indications
- Therapy and follow-up of neuroendocrine tumors and APUDome (amine percursor uptake and decarboxylation; nowadays replaced by NET (neuroendocrine tumors) or GEP-NET ( = gastroenteropankeatic NET)).
Interpretation
Interpretation of increased values
- Bronchial carcinoma (lung cancer; sensitivity (percentage of diseased patients in whom the disease is detected by use of the test, i.e., a positive test result occurs) > 80%)
- Neuroblastoma (sensitivity circa 60%) – malignant brain tumor.
- Seminoma (sensitivity circa 60 %) – testicular carcinoma (testicular cancer).
- Bronchopneumonia (pneumonia)
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (elevated NSE levels in CSF precede typical EEG changes!) – rare encephalopathy (brain disease) leading to progressive dementia.
- Hepatitis (liver inflammation)
- Pulmonary fibrosis – connective tissue remodeling of the liver, which leads to functional limitations.
- Mammary carcinoma (breast cancer)
- Neuroblastoma
- Renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer)
- Thyroid carcinoma (thyroid cancer)
- CNS diseases (meningitis, multiple sclerosis, cerebral infarction).
Interpretation of decreased values
- No diagnostic significance
Caution!False high values due to hemolysis (release of larger amounts of NSE from erythrocytes).