Mucopolysaccharide in the blood of a patient with neuroblastoma

In a case of neuroblastoma the presence of an abnormal blood constituent was suspected from the raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate, sludging of the red cells, marked rouleaux formation, an atypical Leishman stain, increased plasma viscosity, and a distorted protein electrophoresis pattern. The abnormal constituent was shown to be a mucopolysaccharide which was either hyaluronic acid or chondroitin sulphate.