A NEW 85 KDA, BREAST-TUMOR ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN - A POTENTIAL DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC AGENT

In an attempt to develop measures for early diagnosis and prognosis of the disease and to explore association of murine mammary tumour virus (MuMTV) or related virus in breast cancer, me purified a breast tumou r associated antigen (BTAA) from the breast tumour tissues of untreate d female cancer patients, The BTAA purified by DEAE discontinuous colu mn chromatography followed by SE-HPLC was an 85 kDa glycoprotein. A hi gh level of circulating antibodies against this antigen was observed, using ELISA, in all the untreated female breast cancer patients. The B TAA was not immunologically related to MuMTV antigens but strongly res embled an 83 kDa glycoprotein tumour associated antigen, purified from MuMTV induced mouse mammary tumour, In patients after surgical remova l of the breast tumour, the circulating antibodies to the BTAA decreas ed gradually, but reappeared in the patients with secondary metastasis . In healthy age matched women or in female patients with carcinoma of tissues other than breast, no significant titre of the BTAA antibodie s was observed.