Enzymes in Cancer

Abstract Since Warburg and his associates reported in 1924 that cancer tissue exhibits a greater rate of aerobic glycolysis than normal tissue, there have been numerous efforts to define enzymatic defects in cancer tissue. Attempts have been made to use enzyme assays in the diagnosis of cancer and in following the course of the disease. This review considers in this regard the role of organ-specific enzymes (amylase, phosphohydrolases, etc.) as well as the more ubiquitous glycolytic enzymes. The usefulness of the assay of isoenzymes in serum, as well as in tissue of cancer patients, is discussed and the role of enzymes in chemotherapy considered