title: Placental alkaline phosphatase in tumour tissue and serum.
abstract: Using immunochemical techniques, alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes were determined in tissue samples of breast carcinomas and carcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract. In breast carcinomas only 19% of the patients expressed significant placental alkaline phosphatase activity, compared with 78% in gastrointestinal tumours. The intestinal isoenzyme was found in 50% of the breast carcinomas and in nearly all of the other examined tissues. The two isoenzymes usually represent 1% of the total alkaline phosphatase activity, but in a few cases they may constitute between 10 and 90%. In the serum of the patients under examination, elevated total alkaline phosphatase activity was found in only 7%, and elevated placental alkaline phosphatase in 6% of the cases. No cases of elevated serum intestinal alkaline phosphatase were found. We therefore consider that serum placental alkaline phosphatase is a poor tumour marker for a general screening.
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests; D005260:Female; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010920:Placenta / Q000201:enzymology*
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase