HYALURONAN IN THE CEREBROSPINAL FLUID OF PATIENTS WITH SPINAL TUMOR

The clinical significance of hyaluronan (HA) levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with spinal tumor (ST) was evaluated in order to clarify whether HA concentrations in the CSF of patients with ST differ according to such factors as the tumor site and histopathological diagnosis. CSF samples were obtained from 40 patients with ST who had undergone myelography and CSF examinations retrospectively. The HA levels were determined using a sandwich-binding protein assay. The total protein (TP) levels were also determined. The HA and TP concentrations in CSF were significantly higher in patients with extramedullary tumor than in patients with intramedullary tumor. There was a significant correlation between HA and TP concentrations in CSF patients with ST. A HA assay for CSF is therefore considered to be potentially useful for estimating the localization of ST.