Serum polysaccharide levels in rats bearing the Walker 256 tumor.

Previous work on human subjects (9) has shown that the polysaccharide associated with serum proteins is significantly elevated in malig nancy. Little is known concerning the correlation between this elevation and the cancerous condi tion. Work in this laboratory has shown that the serum polysaccharide of dogs is increased in sev eral types of experimental inflammation (7). An elevation also occurs in pregnancy (4, 10), tuber culosis, sarcoidosis, and other pathological condi tions (6, 9). This communication deals with a study of serum polysaccharide during the progres sive development of a rapidly growing transplant able rat tumor.