[Combinations of routine laboratory tests in diagnosis of malignomas (author's transl)]

The question if combined routine-laboratory-tests could improve the search for malignomas in man was checked by comparison of 519 patients with carcinoma and 460 patients with other diseases. In order to do so a combination of four (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, alkaline phosphatase, red blood-picture, relative alpha-2-globuline-increase) and five (additionally alpha-1-globuline-increase) was put up. For either group the found constellations - consisting of normal and pathological items - and their sensibility and specificity were set up. To find out their diagnostical value the likelihood-ratio was determined. Those combinations with exclusively pathological results of all four respectively five laboratory reports and the linked symptoms "anemia - relative alpha-2-globuline-increase" showed to be of high differential diagnostical value. In these groups the probability of malignoma was found to be 4,6:1, 8:1, 3,2:1. The serum protein dispersion of a group of patients with benigne and maligne diseases of the digestive tract was additionally checked by means of the paper-electrophoresis. Those changes that showed a relative increase of all globuline-fractions combined with a decrease of serum albumins under 45% was almost exclusively found in patients with malignomas. All-together this paper shows that certain pathological laboratory-tests--if found together in one patient--give a grave indication for the presence of malignoma.