Concentration of hyaluronan in the serum of untreated cancer patients with special reference to patients with mesothelioma.

The concentration of hyaluronan was measured in the serum from patients with tumors. The patients were divided into nine groups: two control groups, i.e., those with benign tumors and those having undergone radical surgery; and seven groups of patients with untreated malignant conditions, i.e., mesotheliomas, sarcomas, lymphomas, breast carcinomas, brain tumors, bronchial carcinomas, and a group of various malignancies. As an additional control group, subjects with benign pulmonary diseases were investigated. The control groups and all the groups with malignant tumors except the mesotheliomas had serum hyaluronan values equal to or only slightly higher than those of healthy volunteers of the same age. The patients with mesotheliomas had significantly elevated hyaluronan levels (287 +/- 282 [Standard deviation] micrograms/l; n = 35; P less than 0.001) compared with healthy volunteers (54 +/- 28 micrograms/l in the age group of 51 to 60 years). Patients with asbestosis do not exhibit increased serum hyaluronan. The analysis of serum hyaluronan should therefore be of value in the diagnosis of mesothelioma.