[The determination of polyamines in tumors of the maxillofacial area]

Putrescine, spermidine and spermine are polyamines deriving from ornithine. These are vital molecules for cell duplication processes; in fact, enzyme inhibitors responsible for synthesis are able to block cell multiplication. It is interesting to observe that there is an increased concentration of the polyamines and enzymes responsible for synthesis in solid tumours in man and in biological fluids in subjects carrying tumours. The authors assayed the polyamine concentration in tumour tissue taken from 10 cases of parotid carcinoma, noting a considerable increase in their levels compared to healthy control tissues. The hypothesis of being able to use the level of polyamines present in biological fluids in order to make an early diagnosis of tumours has now been definitively abandoned, both due to the scarce specificity and sensitivity of the available methods and due to the fact that increased polyamine concentrations were also found in physiological conditions and in the presence of non-tumour diseases; however, it is now being examined whether it would be possible to use polyamine levels to assess the degree of biochemical tumour malignancy or to evaluate the response to surgical or pharmacological treatment in patients with malignant tumours.