In order to determine possible differences in serum
gangliosides content and composition before and after surgical removal of
tumor,
gangliosides isolated from preoperative and postoperative sera of patients with
brain tumors were analyzed. Serum samples were collected from patients with
glioblastoma,
meningioma,
acoustic neurinoma, haemangioma,
oligodendroglioma and
astrocytoma, one week before and one week after surgical removal of the
tumor. Serum
gangliosides were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed by high performance thin layer chromatography and
laser densitometry. Results showed changes of total
gangliosides concentrations in analyzed postoperative sera comparing to preoperative sera. There was not a significant difference in
ganglioside pattern of preoperative vs. preoperative sera. However, a postoperative decreased proportion of
ganglioside GD3 was observed in sera derived from patients with complete
tumor removal. The results of this study indicate that comparative quantitative and compositional analysis of both preoperative and postoperative serum
gangliosides may provide useful information concerning
tumor progression, surgical success and prognosis.