Lipid-associated sialic acid test for the detection of human cancer.

A rapid method for the measurement of serum and/or plasma, lipid-associated sialic acid levels has been developed. This test has been applied to 850 human sera of which 670 came from patients with nine categories of malignant disease, 80 from persons with benign disorders, and 100 from normal individuals. Lipid-associated sialic acid concentrations were found to be significantly increased (p less than 0.001) in all groups of cancer patients as compared to both those with benign diseases and normal controls. Test sensitivity in the detection of cancer ranged from 77 to 97%. Specificity was, respectively, 81 and 93% for the benign and normal groups. In small samples of patients, no association between test values and tumor burden was found. This test compares favorably with the most widely used tumor marker test, that for carcinoembryonic antigen.