Enzyme pathology and the histologic categorization of human lung tumors: The continuum of quantitative biochemical indices of neoplasticity

The purpose of the present enzymic and histologic analysis of pulmonary samples from 39 subjects was to discern a common, meaningful pattern which may underlie the biochemical heterogeneity of lung neoplasms. The distribution among the different tumors of thymidine kinase, uridine kinase, phosphoserine phosphatase, hexokinase and adenylate kinase was found to correlate with each other. By averaging their standardized units (normal lung = 0) an enzymic index of neoplasticity was calculated for each tumor and used (in increasing order) to rank all 39. The index, showing a significant positive correlation with mitotic frequency, encompassed a continuous 100‐fold range. Poorly differentiated carcinomas ranked high, while neoplasms with better differentiation and prognosis placed in the lower half of the range. The results indicate that enzymes showing coordinated variations over a broad spectrum of tumors could contribute objective criteria to the rating of any individual tumor against a continuous, quantitative scale of neoplasticity.