Lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence in blood is increased in cancer.

The production of oxygen-derived cytotoxic metabolites by phagocytic cells is probably important in cancer cell killing. This production can be measured by chemiluminescence (CL). In the present report the authors have measured luminol and lucigenin-enhanced CL in whole blood from 63 untreated patients with cancer. In particular, the lucigenin-enhanced CL was increased in patients with cancer (P less than 0.001). No relation to origin or spread of the cancer was obvious. Monocyte number in peripheral blood was also significantly (P less than 0.01) increased as compared with age-matched controls. Further, the lucigenin-enhanced CL of purified monocytes, but not that of purified polymorphonuclear leukocyte(s) (PMNs), correlated significantly (P = 0.002) with the activity of whole blood. The authors conclude therefore that the highly increased lucigenin-enhanced CL observed in whole blood of a patient with cancer may reflect the enhanced production and activity of circulating monocytes that is a consequence of the body's defense reactions toward the developing cancer.