Lipid-chemical Differences between Human Can-cerous and Adenomatous Polypous Tissues in the Large Intestine

Abstract

13 cases of cancer and 10 cases of adenomatous polyp in the large intestine were studied lipid-chemically on their tissues, in order to clarify the biochemical differences between malignant neoplastic and benign growth. Cancerous or adenomatous polypous tissues were collected by biopsy or surgical operation. The total lipid was extracted from each tissue, and one part of each total lipid fraction was separated into triglyceride and phospholipid fractions by a thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The fatty acid composition and the fatty acid content of each lipid fraction were measured by a gas-liquid chromatography. When the fatty acid composition of the phospholipid is shown in the form of the deviation rate, the deviation rate of C_14:0 was remarkably increased and that of C_20:4 was remarkably decreased in the cancerous cases, compared with the respective values of the cases of adenomatous polyp. More definite differences were recognized between the cancerous cases and the cases of adenomatous polyp, when the ratio of the deviation rate of C_14:0 to that of C_20:4 was calculated in each case. Namely, these ratios distributed between 2.404 and 4.125 in 7 cancerous cases, and in 8 cases of adenomatous polyp between 0.564 and 1.856. Thus, if we use this ratio, it would be possible to distinguish the cancerous tissue from the adenomatous polypous tissue.