Study of serum fucose and serum sialic acid levels in oral squamous cell carcinomia.

Serum fucose and sialic acid levels were determined in 50 oral cancer patients and 25 healthy controls. A statistically significant increase was noted in the study group. The increase in serum fucose level correlated well with the clinical staging in the study group whereas sialic acid did not. These values were independent of age, sex and histopathological grading. The result suggest that the serum fucose level is a better biochemical tumor marker than sialic acid level. However its usefulness may be limited if used judiciously to assess the prognosis of the disease.