CHANGES OF SERUM PROTEIN IN PATIENTS AND MICE WITH CANCER

Abstract

The effects of surgical operation or schizophyllan (SPG) on serum proteins in patients with cancer and mice with experimentally transplanted cancer were examined using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and two dimensional electrophoresis.
Protein components in the mice, designated as LA, LB and LC were detected and were found to have increased in mice with cancer, reccurrence of cancer or treated with SPG.
In patients with cancer, acute-phase crude proteins increased but a newly isolated protein component having a molecular weight of approximately 150, 000 decreased.
Although it is said that this component can be seen in healthy persons, this study showed that it remained unchanged in patients without cancer and who had had tumors surgically removed, but increased after the administration of SPG.
It is suggested that this component could be a factor potentiating the host defence system and might be a useful indicator to differentiate between benign and malignant tumors. In addition, the fact that increased serum protein components in mice after the administration of SPG similar to those in men after the administration of SPG throws an interesting light on the mechanism of anti-cancer activity.