Both experimental and epidemiological studies suggest that patients with autoimmune and other chronic inflammatory diseases are more prone to develop cancer. The aim of the present investigation is to find some typical differences between the content of lipid-bound sialic acid (LSA) and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in sera from children with neoplastic diseases and juvenile chronic arthritis (JCA). Our results show 30% lower SOD activity in the sera from children with cancer compared with the sera from children with JCA. LSA levels 102% and 166% higher than in children with JCA were observed in the sera from children with blood and solid cancers, respectively. The relation LSA/SOD is about fivefold higher in children with cancers. A negative correlation (r=0.720, P<0.001) exists between LSA and SOD in sera from children with cancers. No such correlation was established in the group of children with JCA. We suppose that such differentiation disappears in the beginning of neoplastic process during prolonged therapy of autoimmune diseases. From our findings SOD and LSA appear to be putative markers of malignant disease with potential usefulness not only in JCA but also in other conditions associated with an increased risk of neoplastic development.