The Gross Electrolyte Composition of Certain Human Malignant Tissues
Abstract
1. A series of 42 biopsies of human malignant neoplasms have been analyzed for their water, nitrogen, and electrolyte content. These have been arbitrarily divided into a leukemia-lymphoma group and a carcinoma-sarcoma group for the purposes of presentation and discussion. 2. A high total water content was consistently observed. Total nitrogen, expressed on a dry weight basis, was for the most part within the range found in normal tissue. 3. Variations observed in the gross electrolyte values are discussed in the light of variations in the mode of structural growth of malignant tumors. 4. The significance of the apparently high intracellular concentration of potassium and phosphorus in tumor cells is discussed. * This investigation was supported by research grants from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Public Health Service (C739, C6), and from the American Cancer Society, Inc. Fellow of the American Cancer Society.