[Activity of lysosomal alpha-arylsulfatase and beta-glucuronidase enzymes in benign and malignant breast tumors].

The total activity per microgram of protein of alpha-arylsulphatase and beta-glucuronidase lysosomial enzymes has been determined in 20 cases of benign and malignant breast tumour. The activity of lysosomial enzymes of the normal breast tissue was always much lower than in neoplastic tissues. The difference is already fairly marked in the case of benign tumours and cystic fibroadenosis, but reaches its peak in malignant tumours where activity is 4-5 times higher than normal values. In the case of total activity, the reference is to one ml of homogenate in distilled water, and in the case of specific activity to mg of protein of the homogenate, in either case the findings are highly significant. Although these researches are at a preliminary stage, they confirm the importance of lysosomial enzyme modifications in the phenomenon of neoplastic growth in the breast.