Plasma acid and alkaline phosphatase in patients with breast cancer.

Acid and alkaline phosphatase were determined in 107 breast cancer patients to study their potential value in case of bone metastases. The patients were divided into 4 groups: A, patients without metastases (n = 34); B, metastatic patients without bone lesions (n = 37); C, patients with metastases in and outside of bones (n = 24), D, patients with bone-only metastases (n = 12). Tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TR-ACP), and bone alkaline phosphatase (bone-ALP) were significantly higher in patients with metastases than in patients without. However, no difference in TR-ACP was observed between subgroups of metastatic patients.