88o METABOLISM OF THE CANCER CELL 12 



II. CARBOHYDRATES AND LIPIDS 



(a) Composition 



There are insufficient data at this time to provide any evidence for significant 

 differences between the carbohydrate or hpid composition of normal and maUg- 

 nant tissues. With respect to these components, the overall pattern observed in 

 tumors as a group largely resembles, or certainly falls within the normal range. 

 Specific alterations in the lipid composition of some tumors have been reported. 

 Johnson and Dutch (1952) found that the total fat of mouse mammary carcinoma 

 was only 1-2% of the amount present in normal resting mammary tissues. Nearly 

 all of this differential in concentration could be attributed to neutral fat since the 

 total cholesterol and total phospholipids of the two tissues were almost identical. 

 In contrast, the content of both free and esterified cholesterol of rat hepatoma is 

 considerably higher than in normal liver. The phosphatide and fatty acid content 

 of the liver tumor is lower than in normal liver. Generally, the phospholipid frac- 

 tion may account for approximately half of the total lipid in the tumor (Johnson 

 and Dutch, 1952; Boyd and McEwen, 1952). Polli and Ratti (1953) obtained 

 the values for the various lipoids of human myeloid leukemic, lymphatic leukemic 

 and normal leukocytes (Table 2). 



These findings indicate that there is no lipid pattern that would characterize 

 the leukemic cell. In addition these investigators reported that there were no signi- 

 ficant differences in the iodine number of the fats isolated from the normal or 

 leukemic leukocytes. The nuclei of both lymphatic and myeloid leukemic cells 

 contained considerably less phospholipid than the nuclei of normal human leuko- 

 cytes. Ackerman et al. (1951) reported that Hodgkins cells contain more lipid and 

 mucopolysaccharide granules than reticulum cells. Seibert et al. (1954) have also 

 made comparisons of the chemical composition of alcoholic extracts obtained from 

 rat sarcoma or lymphoma with similar extracts obtained from normal skeletal 

 muscle. 



TABLE 2 

 (after Polli and Ratti, 1953) 



LIPOID CONTENT OF LEUKEMIC AND NORMAL LEUKOCYTES 



in mg% 



Total Total Neutral Total Choles- Free 



Fat Fatty fat Choles- terol Choi- Phospho- 



acids terol esters esterol lipid 



Human myeloid 1978 11 70 204 329 57 272 1463 



leukemia 



Human lymphatic 



leukemia 1002 625 236 200 35 165 591 



Human normal 



leukocytes 1447 830 209 320 82 238 896 



