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Elevated Plasma Sialyltransferase in the Cancer Patient¹

Departments of Oncology and Pharmacology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, and the Michigan Cancer Foundation, Detroit, Michigan 48201

Sialyltransferase activity was measured in plasma samples using desialated fetuin as the acceptor and cytidine 5'-phosphate-sialic acid as donor. The data show an increased enzyme level in 56 of 65 cancer patients studied, as compared with normal control values. The enzyme was not significantly elevated during lactation or in liver cirrhosis, but it was elevated in rheumatoid arthritis. Of the patients with cancer, 35 showed plasma enzyme levels above any value encountered in rheumatoid arthritis plasmas. The determinants of enzyme level in cancer appear to be complex; monitoring of plasma sialyltransferase may be of value in measuring tumor progression, metastatic involvement, or success of therapeutic programs.

¹ Supported in part by NIH Grants CA 16053 and CA 07177.

² Professor of Pharmacology and Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Mich.

³ Summer Research Fellow from the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, University of London, London, England.

Received 9/ 9/74. Accepted 11/13/74.

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