ESOPHAGEAL CANCER PHOSPHOLIPID CHARACTERIZATION BY P-31 NMR

Phospholipid extracts of surgical tissue specimens from 18 patients, c onsisting of normal esophagus, distal esophageal tumor and normal stom ach, were analyzed using P-31 NMR. The prominent phospholipids detecte d in these tissues included cardiolipin (CL), phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogen, phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), sphingomyelin (SPH), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylcholine pl asmalogen and phosphatidylcholine (PC). Very small quantities of the p hospholipids lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylg lycerol, and an uncharacterized phospholipid at -0.13 delta also were detected in some of the 54 tissue specimens analyzed. The mean relativ e concentrations of these phospholipids, in mole percentages of total detected phosphorus, were determined from the acquired spectra and use d to differentiate among the three tissue groups. The relative concent rations of the following phospholipids differed significantly (p<0.001 ) among the respective tissue groups: normal esophagus vs esophageal t umor, PS, SPH, PI, PC; normal esophagus vs normal stomach, CL, PE, PS, SPH; esophageal tumor vs normal stomach, CL, PE. Membrane phospholipi ds implicated in modulating the growth and metastases of tumors of epi thelial origin can be profiled to discriminate among normal esophagus, distal esophageal tumor and normal stomach using P-31 NMR.