Dehydrogenase Activity in Human Tumors

A histochemical study was made of a-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase in human tumors of @30cases. Enzymatic activity was generally confined to the cell plasma in neoplastic cells, and stromal reaction was usually low or absent. The stainability for a-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase was constant in normal tissue, whereas that of neo plastic cells was variable. Squamous-cell carcinomas showed varying degrees of en zymatic activity. Adenocarcinoma exhibited a moderate to strong activity, and 47 per cent of the stomach cancers seemed to be moderately reactive. Adenomas and fibro adenomas in the breast showed a moderate activity. Activity and localization for a-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase showed no charac teristics, and no correlation was found with the degree of differentiation and malignancy.