LEUKOCYTE ALKALINE-PHOSPHATASE AND SERUM ALKALINE-PHOSPHATASE IN PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC BREAST AND COLON-CANCER

Periferal blood leukocyte alkaline phosphatase (LAP) scores and serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP) levels in 70 patients with metastatic breas t and colorectal cancer (metastases to the liver, lung, bone and abdom en) and in 18 healthy controls were measured. The mean LAP score in th e metastatic cancer patients was significantly higher than in the cont rol group (244 vs. 61) and there was no overlap between the 95% confid ence level intervals of the two groups. The mean (SAP) level in the me tastatic patients was also higher than in the controls (249 u/l vs. 16 2 u/l) but the 95% confidence level interval of the controls was insid e the 95% interval of the metastatic patients meaning that considerabl e percentage of the metastatic patients will have a SAP level within t he normal range.