title: Detection by proton nuclear magnetic resonance of elevated lactate concentration in serums from patients with malignant tumors.
abstract: Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectra of the serum specimens from patients with malignant tumors were compared with those from presumably healthy persons. We found that 87% of serum specimens from the patients yielded a common proton signal, which was ascribed to the methyl protons of lactic acid; whereas only 9% of serum specimens from the healthy persons tested gave this signal. On the basis of these results we concluded that the lactate level in the serum can be used as a criterion for the diagnosis of cancer in humans and that the determination of lactate concentration in the serum is easily performed by means of 1H-NMR.
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007773:Lactates / Q000097:blood*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D011522:Protons
chemical_list: D007773:Lactates; D011522:Protons