[Erythrocyte membranes during malignant growth].

Suspensions of red cells from normal subjects and cancer patients were incubated in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The incubation gave rise to a flash of chemiluminescence including rapid and slow components. The concentration dependencies of chemiluminescence were plotted as was the dependence of chemiluminescence on the temperature of the suspension under test. The differences were found between chemiluminescence of donors' red cells and that of patients'. It is inferred that red cell membranes of cancer patients show both the decreased membrane resistance to the damage-inducing action of hydrogen peroxide and elevation of antioxidant activity.