Affinity electrophoresis for diagnosis of cancer and inflammatory conditions

Affinity electrophoresis, with concanavalin A and Lens culinaris agglutinin as ligands, was applied to study the microheterogeneity of serum proteins, with special emphasis on alpha 1-fetoprotein and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, two proteins of potential clinical value. A total of 602 samples of serum from patients with various neoplastic and inflammatory conditions were evaluated. Affinity electrophoresis provided useful information for differential diagnosis of cancers of various origins including hepatomas, metastatic liver cancers and yolk sac tumors. The method also proved indispensable for the detection of intercurrent infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and scaled burns.