EXPRESSION OF MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY CLASS-I AND CLASS-II ANTIGENS AND INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-1 ON OPERABLE NONSMALL CELL LUNG CARCINOMAS - FREQUENCY AND PROGNOSTIC-SIGNIFICANCE

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens and adhesion molecules , such as the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), appear to pl ay an important role in the immunological recognition and destruction of tumour cells. We, therefore, examined the expression patterns of th ese proteins on primary tumours of 91 patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Applying immunohistochemistry with monoclon al antibody (MAb) W6/32 against a common framework determinant of HLA class I antigens revealed a deficient expression in 33.0% of the cases analysed, while neo-expression of either HLA class II antigens (MAb T AL.1B5) or ICAM-1 (MAb PA3.58-14) was observed in 26.4 or 29.7% of tum ours, respectively. Analysis of consecutive tumour specimens indicated that HLA antigens and ICAM-1 were frequently coexpressed. With regard to clinicopathological risk factors, we could demonstrate a preferent ial expression of those markers in patients with locally restricted an d well-differentiated tumours or no lymph node metastases, which was m ore pronounced in adenocarcinomas than in squamous cell carcinomas. In contrast, the presence versus the absence of HLA antigens and ICAM-1 was not correlated with the rate of tumour recurrence or overall survi val in patients with NSCLC. In conclusion, the co-ordinated expression of immunologically relevant cell surface molecules on primary NSCLC i s a frequent event that correlates with distinct parameters of favoura ble prognosis. However, we have no evidence that the immune response f acilitated by these molecules can effectively influence the clinical c ourse of the disease.