Amylase: sensitive tumor marker for amylase-producing lung adenocarcinoma

Hyperamylasemia in patients with lung cancer is rarely, comprising 1% to 3% of all lung cancers. This report describes two cases of lung adenocarcinoma coexisting with hyperamylasemia in two women aged 77 and 57, respectively. In these two cases, CT revealed a normal pancreas. We monitored the serum and urine amylase levels during therapy and found it paralleled tumor response to chemotherapy and metastasis. We suggest that the amylase levels are related to the tumor size and might be a valuable factor in predicting chemotherapy and progression of disease for amylase-producing lung cancer.