Biochemical evaluation of patients with breast cancer.

Peripheral blood specimens were obtained from 50 patients with various stages of breast cancer (I-II = 7, III = 6, IV = 24, treated and NED = 13), and 20 biochemical tests were performed. There are significant differences of hemoglobin, LDH, SGPT, serum protein, albumin, and alpha globulin values between patients with early (I, II, NED) and late (III, IV) lesions. Among patients with stage IV diseases, those patients with bony metastases had significantly higher values of alkaline phosphatase, alpha-1 globulin, IgA, and C-reactive protein than those with nonosseous lesions. Neither CEA nor pregnancy-associated alpha-2 glycoprotein showed any correlation with different stages or sites of breast cancer in these small series of patients.