Serum sialic acid and glycoprotein levels in some Libyan cancer patients

Sialic acid is a common conjugate of some serum glycoproteins and glycolipids. Elevated levels of serum sialic acid and alterations in serum glycoproteins have been observed in certain types of cancer. In this study sialic acid concentration in the sera of patients with various types of cancer was determined. In addition to this, serum glycoproteins were also analysed by electrophoretic method. Our results indicate that serum sialic acid levels are generally raised in all types of cancer studied. This increase was more pronounced in case of lung, bronchogenic, intestinal and breast cancer. Some alterations in the serum glycoprotein profiles were also observed, particularly in bronchogenic and gall bladder cancer where an additional band in the low molecular weight region was present and in lung, breast and lymphoma where a band in the middle molecular weight region was found missing when compared with normals.