DETECTING FATTY-ACIDS OF DIETARY ORIGIN IN NORMAL AND CANCEROUS HUMANBREAST-TISSUE BY C-13 NUCLEAR-MAGNETIC-RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY

Natural abundance C-13 NMR was used to determine relative amounts of f atty acid subclasses present in fibroadipose tissue from the human bre ast in healthy and cancer patients and in breast carcinoma tissue. Res onances corresponding to the carbon atoms of triacylglycerides were ob tained when adipose tissue constituted more than 10% of the carcinoma. Resonances corresponding to phospholipids and proteins were also obse rved when the percentage of adipose tissue was lower. No significant d ifference between the levels of unsaturated fatty acids in adipose tis sue from cancer and non-cancer patients was found. However, significan t differences in the levels of monounsaturated and saturated fatty aci ds of carcinoma compared to non-cancerous tissue was found, as was a n early significant difference for the levels of polyunsaturated fatty a cids in these two tissue types. These findings suggest an alteration o f cellular lipid composition in neoplastic mammary tissue.