Independence of sialic acid levels in normal and malignant growth.

Sialic acid content in breast or tumor tissue and serum of mouse strains that are either susceptible or resistant to breast cancer was measured at various age periods. Sialic acid content was also studied in normal lung tissue and in lung adenoma and hepatoma. Sialic acid levels during nonmalignant growth of a tissue were measured in breast tissue during pregnancy and lactation, and in regenerating liver, as well as in newborn and postnatal liver. The sialic acid content, when expressed per mg of protein, increased in mammary tumor, lung adenoma, and hepatoma. It also increased in nonmalignant growth of breast tissue during pregnancy and lactation and of regenerating liver and postnatal liver. Increase in sialic acid per mg DNA was observed only in lung tumors, regenerating liver, and postnatal liver. It appears that the changes in sialic acid level are independent of the normal or malignant growth of a tissue and that these changes might be the function of the parameter used to express the sialic acid values, i.e., either the DNA content or protein content of a given tissue.