title: [Changes in plasma amino acid level as a possible tumor marker in cancers of the gastrointestinal tract].
abstract: We evaluated the free-plasma amino acid pattern in 73 healthy volunteers and 156 patients with gastrointestinal carcinomas after an overnight fast. None of the examined persons showed a sign of malnutrition or metabolic illness. Differences of more than +/- 40% in the concentrations of methionine, phenylalanine, glutamic acid, ornithine, taurine, and phosphoserine were found in cancer patients compaired to healthy volunteers. Tumorstage but not localization or grading correlated significantly with most amino acids. From our results we were able to compute a linear model of seven amino acids using computer-based stepwise discriminant analysis. This formula in the form of a tumor-index can be used as a prognostic indicator for the presence or absence of a gastrointestinal carcinoma.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000097:blood; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000097:blood*; D000601:Amino Acids, Essential / Q000097:blood; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000601:Amino Acids, Essential
vernacular_title: Veränderungen der Plasmaaminosäurenspiegel als mögliche Tumormarker bei Karzinomen des Gastrointestinaltrakts.