Deficiency of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase in neutrophils of cancer patients.

It has been suggested that intracellular enzymatic deficiencies of neutrophils may represent another cancer risk factor. This concept is based on data indicating the cytotoxic effects of neutrophils on tumor cells. In 196 patients with various malignancies, precancerous states and states predisposing to malignancies, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase activity has been determined in peripheral blood neutrophils using a semiquantitative cytochemical method. A statistically significant deficiency of this enzyme in neutrophils has been reported in patients with uterine, breast and lung cancer and uterine myoma. A tendency towards lower levels of activity of the enzyme within neutrophils has also been noted in patients with carcinoma of the stomach and precancerous states of the larynx, although without statistical significance; patients with endometriosis showed elevated activity of the enzyme.