[Vitamins A and E and vitamin A-binding proteins in the blood serum of patients with esophageal cancer].

The mean values of the vitamin A and the beta-carotene in the blood serum of patients with oesophageal cancer are lower than that in patients with nonmalignant oesophagus diseases and those with diseases other than malignancies and oesophageal diseases. The total protein and the albumin concentration in the blood sera did not differ when the above three groups of patients were compared. The concentration of vitamin E in the blood serum was similar in all three groups studied. The concentration of vitamin A in the group of patients with oesophageal cancer showed a marked correlation with the concentration of the vitamin A-binding proteins in the blood serum.