Ganglioside GD3 shedding by human gliomas.

The proportion of ganglioside GD3 increases in glioma tissue and GD3 content is correlated with malignancy of gliomas. This ganglioside can be detected in the sera of patients with glioma by thin-layer chromatographic analysis. Ganglioside GD3 was not detected in the sera of healthy donors and astrocytoma grade 2 patients. However, serum GD3 was detected in one of three astrocytoma grade 3 patients and seven of nine glioblastoma patients. These results show that shedding of GD3 increases in proportion to the degree of malignancy of gliomas. Nevertheless, all of the glioblastoma patients in this study were advanced cases. Considering the high reliability of radiological diagnostic techniques in the neurosurgical field, further study will be necessary to clarify the relationships between the GD3 level in serum and the properties of tumours.