The levels of individual phospholipids-total phospholipids (TPL), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), sphingomyelin (Sph) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) were determined in serum samples from 14 healthy adults and 32 patients with malignant tumor including 9 gastric cancers and 9 lung cancers. Additionally, the activities of lecithin : cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) were measured in the same samples from 7 healthy adults and 2 patients with lung cancer. The levels of LPC and PC were shown significantly lower in the patients with malignant tumor than those in healthy adults. But no differance was found in the level of Sph. In the patients with malignant tumor, serum LPC level was very markedly lower than that in the healthy adults, though there was no difference in the serum LCAT activity between the patients and healthy adults.
