Arginase, a new marker of mammary carcinoma

Abstract

Activities of arginase, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase were determined in sera obtained in a group of healthy women, women with verified carcinoma of the breast, benign mastopathy, a group of patients with carcinoma of various organs and a group of patients with acute viral hepatitis. Preoperative values of serum arginase activity in patients with breast carcinoma were up to 4-fold those found in healthy women. Sensitivity of the test was 86%. After the surgery, the activity decreased abruptly during the first week and normalised within 15–30 days. In benign diseases of the breast, the activity of arginase was normal. Serum arginase activity is raised in both benign and malignant liver diseases, however, the quotients alanine aminotransferase/arginase, aspartate aminotransferase/arginase and alkaline phosphatase/arginase differ significantly. Thus, use of alanine aminotransferase/arginase quotient implies a high degree of confidence in differentiating between increased arginase activity in mammary carcinoma (alanine aminotransferase/arginase = 0.572 ± 0.278) and high arginase activity in hepatitis (alanine aminotransferase/arginase = 12.226 ± 1.822).