Urinary excretion of some metabolites of tryptophan in malignant diseases.

The urinary excretion of four tryptophan metabolites, namely indolylacryloylglycine, indolylacetic, 5-hydroxyindolylacetic and 3-hydroxyanthranilic acids, was studied in two control groups, in children suffering from acute leukemia, hepatic and brain tumours and in adults with bladder cancer. Compared with controls, a significantly lower excretion of IAcrGly was observed in all patient groups with the exception of that with hepatic tumours. Hematological malignancies were further accompanied by low excretion of indolylacetic acid, and bladder cancers by a lower 5-hydroxyindolylacetic acid level. We found no correlation of the metabolites tested in individuals of any patient group. In controls, however, indolylacryloylglycine and indolylacetic acid did correlate.