SUPEROXIDE-DISMUTASE AND LIPID-BOUND SIALIC-ACID IN SERA FROM CHILDREN WITH CANCERS AND JUVENILE CHRONIC ARTHRITIS

Both experimental and epidemiological studies suggest that patients wi th autoimmune and other chronic inflammatory diseases are more prone t o develop cancer, The aim of the present investigation is to find some typical differences between the content of lipid-bound sialic acid (L SA) and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in sera from childr en with neoplastic diseases and juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA), Our results show 30% lower SOD activity in the sera from children with can cer compared with the sera from children with JCA. LSA levels 102% and 166% higher than in children with JCA were observed in the sera from children with blood and solid cancers, respectively, The relation LSA/ SOD is about fivefold higher in children with cancers, A negative corr elation (r = 0.720, P < 0.001) exists between LSA and SOD in sera from children with cancers, No such correlation was established in the gro up of children with JCA, We suppose that such differentiation disappea rs in the beginning of neoplastic process during prolonged therapy of autoimmune diseases, From our findings SOD and ESA appear to be putati ve markers of malignant disease with potential usefulness not only in JCA but also in other conditions associated with an increased risk of neoplastic development.