The stearic acid/oleic acid ratio from red blood cells is a marker for the presence of malignant tissue, particularly with prostate cancer. In tumors, the net result of changes in fatty acid metabolism is low stearic acid and high oleic acid, causing a profound shift in the ratio of stearic to oleic acids. One likely outcome of this shift is increased fluidity of the tumor cell membrane, resulting in more rapid movement of nutrients and waste products and allowing for faster metabolic rate. The stearic/oleic ratio is used to monitor the effectiveness of cancer therapy.
Values below 1.1 are associated with malignancy.
Reference:
Persad RA, Gillatt DA, Heinemann D, Habib NA, Smith PJ. Erythrocyte stearic to oleic acid ratio in prostatic carcinoma. Br J Urol. 1990 Mar;65(3):268-70. doi: 10.1111/j.1464-410x.1990.tb14724.x. PMID: 2337746.
Wood CB, Habib NA, Thompson A, Bradpiece H, Smadja C, Hershman M, Barker W, Apostolov K. Increase of oleic acid in erythrocytes associated with malignancies. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1985 Jul 20;291(6489):163-5. doi: 10.1136/bmj.291.6489.163. PMID: 3926106; PMCID: PMC1416381.
Apostolov K, Barker W, Catovsky D, Goldman J, Matutes E. Reduction in the stearic to oleic acid ratio in leukaemic cells--a possible chemical marker of malignancy. Blut. 1985 Jun;50(6):349-54. doi: 10.1007/BF00320928. PMID: 3859340.
Stearic/Oleic
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