[Hexokinase activity of erythrocytes in cancer patients].

In the present work we have considered the following erythrocyte enzymatic activities; hexokinase (HK), pyruvate kinase (PK), glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase (G6PD), 6-phosphogluconate-dehydrogenase (6PGD), glicero phosphate-isomerase (PHI) and glutathione-reductase (GR) in the red blood cells of 130 subjects of which 55 were healthy or with non cancerous pathology and 75 with malignant tumors. Evident modification has been shown only for the HK which together with fructose-6-phosphate-kinase (PFK) and PK are limiting steps of glycolysis. The increased HK activity value resulted particularly significant in red blood cells of patients affected by well differentiated adenocarcinoma.