Enzyme activities in normal, dysplastic, and cancerous human breast tissues

The activities of six different enzymes were compared in 29 normal, 34 dysplastic, and 80 cancerous (both primary and metastatic) human breast tissues; in MCF-7 cells; and in primary rat mammary tumors. Benign lesions generally showed enzyme activities similar to those of normal breast tissues. Malignant tumors had significantly increased activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, hexokinase (HK), pyruvate kinase (PK), and creatine kinase. Enzyme activity in the malignant tumor was always higher than that in apparently normal or fibrocystic tissue from the same patient. Enzyme activities did not correlate with the levels of estrogen and progesterone receptors. LDH, MDH, and HK were elevated to a similar extent in all the tissues examined. Conversely, PK was elevated to a much greater extent in cancerous tissues, particularly in MCF-7 cells. The elevated activities of these enzymes may have diagnostic potential, especially when tumor tissue and apparently normal tissue from the same patient are compared.