[Amylase-producing lung tumors]

Raised serum amylase associated with pulmonary tumours is a rare phenomenon. On the basis of two cases, the literature is reviewed and the case histories are compared. The majority of tumours associated with raised serum amylase are adenocarcinomata and, in all of the cases in which determinations of isoenzymes were undertaken, the amylase-isoenzyme was of salivary gland type. In one of the authors' cases, immunhistochemical investigation revealed that the tumour cells contained amylase. In cases of hyperamylasaemia of unknown origin with increased amylase of salivary gland type, adenocarcinoma in the lungs should be considered as a possible diagnosis.