Relationship between tissue polyamine levels and malignancy in primary brain tumors.

We studied the relationship between tissue polyamine levels and malignancy in 146 primary brain tumors. Astrocytoma showed a consistent rise in levels of N1-acetylspermidine (N1-AcSpd) in tissue with increased grade of malignancy. Furthermore, in astrocytoma, the patients whose tumors contained high levels of N1-AcSpd (> or = 15 nmol/g) in tissue showed a far worse prognosis, a significantly lower recurrence-free survival rate, and a shorter survival rate than did the patients whose tumors contained lower levels of N1-AcSpd (< 15 nmol/g). High-grade astrocytoma contained N1-AcSpd at the level of 15 nmol/g or higher, and most of the benign brain tumors, including low-grade astrocytoma, meningioma, pituitary adenoma, and normal brain tissues contained much lower levels of N1-AcSpd. However, medulloblastoma, hemangiopericytoma, and neurinoma showed an inverse correlation between N1-AcSpd levels in tissue and biological malignancy. These results suggest that levels of N1-AcSpd in tissue can be a promising biochemical marker of malignancy in astrocytoma. In the other primary brain tumors, however, the relationship between levels of N1-AcSpd in tissue and biological malignancy should be examined in each histopathological type.