Erythrocyte Glycolysis in Patients with Malignant Neoplasms and Other Chronic Diseases

Abstract

The rate of erythrocyte glycolysis of blood from normal volunteers was 12.0 mg.% glucose consumed/hr with 5 x 10⁶ Rbc/cu.mm. The mean glycolytic rate of blood from tumor patients (14.5 mg.% glucose consumed/hr. with 5 x 10⁶ Rbc/cu.mm.) and from patients with other chronic diseases (17.4 mg.% glucose consumed/hr. with 5 x 10⁶ Rbc/cu.mm.) was found to be greater to a statistically significant degree than that of normals in the absence of reticulocytosis. This suggests that the red cell population of the patients with neoplastic and chronic diseases may be younger than that of normal subjects and that only some of the young cells have demonstrable reticulum.