Renal excretion of neopterine and biopterine in patients with malignant melanoma and Hodgkin's disease.

In two groups of patients with checked diagnoses of the malignant melanoma and Hodgkin's disease we followed changes of the renal excretion of two major pterines, neopterine and biopterine. In patients with the malignant melanoma, we found a remarkable increase of the excretion of neopterine, which depends on the extent of the involvement and, by contrast to this, in patients with Hodgkin's disease we found a remarkable decrease of the excretion of biopterine, also dependent on the extent of the involvement. In both types of the tumor disease the ratio neopterine: biopterine is remarkably increased as compared to controls.