Alterations of glycosidases in benign, premalignant and malignant human lesions.

Glycosidases were determined in the supernatant from normal, benign, premalignant, and cancerous human tissue. The total enzyme activities of alpha-fucosidase, hexosaminidase, beta-galactosidase, and acid phosphatase in both malignant tumors and tissues with premalignant lesions were significantly greater than those in normal tissues, whereas a very low enzyme activity alteration in benign lesions was observed. The least specific enzyme alteration was aryl sulfatase, which was elevated in only 58% of the tissues with malignancies and in 19% of the tissues with benign lesions. Nearly 90% of tissues with premalignant lesions had simultaneously elevated levels of two or more enzymes whereas only 5% of the control tissues had simultaneously elevated alpha-fucosidase, hexosaminidase, and acid phosphatase activity. Present results indicate that acid glycosidases have high activity in both premalignant and malignant human tissues.