Glycosaminoglycans in human lung cancer.

The quantitative changes of glycosaminoglycans in tumor tissue of human lung cancers (2 squamous cell carcinomas, 4 adenocarcinomas and 5 small cell carcinomas) were studied. The total amount of glycosaminoglycans in human lung cancer tissues increased 1.4 to 4 times in comparison with that in normal lung tissues. The increase in tissue content of glycosaminoglycans was accompanied by an increase in the chondroitin sulfate level in every histologic type of lung cancer, as well as by a marked increase in hyaluronic acid level in squamous cell carcinomas, and a moderate increase in its level in small cell carcinomas. The concentrations of dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate in lung cancer tissues did not show any significant changes compared with those in normal lung tissues. The increase in total amount and changes in the composition of glycosaminoglycans in human lung cancer tissue were closely related to the histologic type of the tumor.