Serum and pleural fluid levels of alpha-L-fucosidase and sialic acid have no diagnostic value in malignant pleural effusions
Aktoğu, S.; Erkizan, O.; Yorgancioğlu, A.; Bozkaya, G.
Monaldi Archives for Chest Disease 52(2): 118-120
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 1122-0643 PMID: 9203806 Document Number: 481890
The association of biological markers with cancer has been recognized for many decades. To determine whether alpha-L-fucosidase (ALF) and sialic acid (SA) are sensitive markers in malignant pleural effusions, they were investigated in serum and pleural fluid of 64 consecutive pleurisy patients, and in serum of 23 healthy subjects as a control group. The serum ALF (sALF) and serum SA (sSA) values of malignant and nonmalignant groups were higher than that of the control group, but the differences were statistically significant only for sSA determinations (p < 0.05). Values of sALF, sSA, pleural ALF (pALF), and pleural SA (pSA) were higher in the malignant group than the nonmalignant group, but no significant difference was found between the two groups. In conclusion, neither alpha-L-fucosidase nor sialic acid will be useful in the detection of malignant pleural effusions.