Correlation of the blood-level of a pregnancy-associated alpha-macroglobulin with the clinical course of cancer patients.

The variations in serum level of a pregnancy-associated alpha-macroglobulin (P.A.M.) were studied during the treatment of breast-cancer patients. Good correlation was found between P.A.M. concentrations and the course of the disease--levels rose prior to the clinical recognition of metastatic disease and decreased significantly on successful treatment. Periodic P.A.M. determinations may allow detection of tumour recurrence while it is still at a treatable stage.