Gangliosides were isolated from the sera of recently diagnosed breast-
cancer patients and from individuals who were apparently free of disea
se. Quantificative and qualitative analyses were carried out by 2-dime
nsional high-performance thin-layer chromatography and gas chromatogra
phy. The locations of isolated gangliosides on thin-layer chromatogram
s were determined by visualization with resorcinol, and each spot was
quantified by digital image densitometry. The ganglioside profiles of
cancer patients were compared to those of the control group, revealing
a significant increase in total lipid-bound sialic acid and a specifi
c increase in polysialogangliosides in the patients with breast cancer
. Furthermore, an increase was noted in the ratio of gangliosides of t
he b-series biosynthetic pathway over those of the a-series in the can
cer sera, as compared to the controls. Gas chromatographic analysis of
the peracetylated methanolysis mixtures derived from the total gangli
oside fraction of cancer patients supported the HPTLC data, with an in
crease in total sialic acid, galactose, and sphingosine residues. No u
nusual gangliosides were found in the mixture from breast-cancer patie
nts. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.