Plasma lipid bound sialic acid in patients with prostate and bladder cancer.

Plasma lipid bound sialic acid (LSA) was measured in patients with prostate and bladder cancer to determine the usefulness of this biochemical marker in teh staging of malignant disease and in monitoring the efficacy of therapy. Patients with advanced stages of prostate cancer with bone metastases exhibited LSA levels significantly higher than normal subjects. Patients with bladder cancer showed elevations in LSA both in early noninvasive and in advanced stages of the disease. In both types of cancer, patients treated successfully and clinically free of disease did not have elevated LSA levels, whereas patients failing to respond to treatment had persistently high values.