Further studies on lipid-chemical differences between cancerous and adenomatous polypous tissues in the human large intestine.

17 cases of cancer and 18 cases of adenomatous polyp in the large intestine were subjected to lipid-chemical studies of their tissues in order to clarify the biochemical differences between malignant neoplastic growth and benign growth. Cancerous and adenomatous polypous tissues were collected by biopsy or surgical operation together with the respective control tissues. One part of the total lipid extracted from each tissue was separated into triglyceride and phospholipid fraction by a thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The fatty acid composition and content of each lipid fraction were measured by a gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). When the fatty acid composition of a phospholipid was expressed in terms of the deviation rate, that of C14:0 was remarkably increased and that of C20:4 was remarkably decreased in the cancerous cases as compared with the respective values of the cases of adenomatous polyp. More definite differences were recognized between the cancerous cases and the cases of adenomatous polyp, when the ratio of the deviation rate of C14:0 to that of C20:4 was calculated in each case. Namely, the ratios distributed between 2.064 and 4.125 in 10 cancerous cases, and between 0.393 and 1.856 in 16 cases of adenomatous polyp, indicating the biochemical differences between cancerous tissues and adenomatous polypous tissues.