Urinary putrescine, spermidine, and spermine in human blood and solid cancers and in an experimental gastric tumor of rats.

An improved method of assay of urinary polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine) was applied to the study of cancer patients and an experimental gastric tumor of rats. Although total polyamines (putrescine, spermidine, and spermine) in urine of patients with blood and solid cancers were significantly high, putrescine concentrations also increased significantly and were shown to be of diagnostic aid even in solid cancers. A significant increase in putrescine was also noted in the urine of rats with experimental stomach tumors induced by N-methyl-N-nitro-N'-nitrosoguanidine.