Reduction in the stearic to oleic acid ratio in leukaemic cells--a possible chemical marker of malignancy.

Total lipid extracts of peripheral blood cells from patients with chronic leukaemias were analysed for relative values of saturation of the eighteen carbon chain length fatty acids (C 18 FA). The results are expressed as saturation index (C 18 S:C 18 U) of the saturated C 18 FA (stearic acid) over the unsaturated C 18 FA (oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids). The saturation indices of the white blood cells (WBC) and the red blood cells (RBC) in specimens from 14 patients with chronic granulocytic leukaemia (CGL) and 17 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemias (CLL) were significantly and consistently lower than control specimens. It is proposed that the relative increase in the unsaturated oleic acid could prove to be a chemical marker of malignancy reflecting a deficient cellular control of the process of stearic acid desaturation. The theoretical implications of the implied increase in membrane fluidity for the cells are discussed.