Effects of human and experimental cancer on the conversion of 14C tripalmitin to 14CO2.

14C Tripalmitin was administered intraperitoneally to control mice and to mice bearing subcutaneous Krebs-2 carcinoma. The rate of excretion of 14CO2 was studied. The presence of a tumor induced a greater than 80% suppression of the formation of 14CO2 within 24 hours from the implantation of the tumor, thus allowing unambiguous identification of the tumor-bearing mice. When cancer patients were studied, along with normal volunteers and patients with non-neoplastic diseases, 14CO2 excretion data could be used to identify the cancer patients with an overall accuracy of 84%.