Background: Serum concentrations of monoglycosylated isoforms of transferrin are increased by chronic ethanol intake. We investigated transferrin glycosylation in patients with cancer, in which aberrant glycosylation is also induced.
Methods: We used a P/ACE 5000 series capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) apparatus and a CZE carbohydrate-deficient transferrin reagent set to study 200 cancer patients who consumed alcohol moderately and 33 who were alcohol abusers; we then compared these patients with 56 healthy teetotalers, 89 moderate, and 112 excessive alcohol drinkers without known malignancies.