Establishment and clinical application of an original method of RIA for epidermal growth factor (EGF)

Objective: To establish an original method of RIA for epidermal growth factor (EGF) for clinical use. Methods: Human EGF was used to immunize guinea pig,and high titer anti-serum was obtained to establish an original method of RIA for detecting serum EGF concentration in controls and patients with liver cancer, diabetes mellitus, colon cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, uterine-myoma and ovary cancer. Results: The standard curve range was 0.2-27 ng/ml, the intra-and inter-assay CV% was 4.6% and 8.7% respectively, the sensitivity was 0.18 ng/ml, while the recovery rate was 95%∼104%. The serum EGF levels in the controls were 0.52±0.25 ng/ml (n=74), patients with liver cancer 1.29±0.58 ng/ml (n=99), patients with diabetes 1.91±0.58 ng/ml (n=90), patients with colonic cancer 1.43±0.56 ng/ml (n=90), patients with lung cancer 1.30±0.47 ng/ml (n=95), patients with gastric cancer 1.25±0.58 ng/ml (n=87), patients with uterine myoma 1.49±0.46 ng/ml (n=44), and patients with ovarian cancer 1.79±0.60 ng/ml (n=54), respectively. Serum EGF levels in each patient group were significantly (all P<0.01) higher than those in controls. Conclusion: The established original method of EGF RIA can be used for both clinical and research purposes. (authors)