Advances in Cancer Research 9. [antikvár]

I. IntroductionProbably no other excretion products offer more promise for the early diagnosis of human cancer than the diverse patterns of urinary enzymes and isozymes. The normal excretion of the urinary amylases, phosphatases, proteases, catalases, esterases, and other enzymes may be altered both quantitatively and qualitatively in human cancer, especially in cancer of the urinary tract, giving clues to both the nature and location of the pathological growth. Although none of the urinary enzymes investigated thus far offers a completely specific and reliable diagnostic test for cancer, the available data indicate that urinary enzyme assays can provide valuable information to aid the clinician in diagnosis.The urinary enzymes may originate in one or more of several ways. First, the enzyme may originate by its direct addition to the urine from* Work done by the authors, as reported in this review, was supported by Contract No. 43-64-576, National Cancer Institute, and by grants from the National Institutes of Health (AM-5487 and CA-7174) and the American Cancer Society (P-119).1