[Polyamines in tumors of the oral cavity]

The polyamines putrescine, spermidine and spermine are essential for normal growth and differentiation and the activity of the enzymes participating in their synthesis and catabolism are markedly modified in actively proliferating cells in vitro and in vivo. In some neoplastic cells a good correlation is observed between polyamine concentration and histology, so that a potential usefulness as diagnostic and prognostic markers has been suggested. In the study of ornithine decarboxylase, S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase and spermidine acetyltransferase activities and of polyamine concentration in tumors of the oral cavity we have shown a marked increase in the tumor cells. In the epulis the ratio spermidine/spermine is inverted, so that it could be useful in differentiating benign from malign tumors.