Application of serum sialic acid level in diagnosis of malignancies and inflammation

Objective To study the value of serum sialic acid（SA） level in diagnosis of malignancies and inflammatory diseases. Methods SA levels in 176 patients with malignancies,141 patients with benign disease,152 patients with other inflammatory disease,and 120 healthy subjects were measured with a Hitachi 7600 automatic biochemical analyzer and statistically analyzed. Results The serum SA levels were significantly higher in different groups of tumor patients,and in groups of patients with pancreatitis,urinary system infection and other inflammatory disease than in control group.The positive SA rate was 56.8%,34%,and zero,respectively,for malignancy,benign disease and control groups（P＜0.05）.Among the 176 tumor patients,the serum SA level was the highest in pancreatic cancer group and the lowest in colorectal cancer group,with a positive rate of 67.9%（19/28） and 45.7%（21/46）,respectively.Among the inflammation patients,the serum SA level was the highest in vein thrombosis group and the lowest in chronic tonsillitis group,with a positive rate of 59.5%（25/42） and 7.7%（2/26）,respectively. Conclusion Serum SA level increased at a different extent in patients with malignancies and inflammatory diseases,which is closely related with the disease progression.It can thus be used as an important indicator of tissue cell inflammatory injury.