ANTIBODIES TO PANCARCINOMA TN EPITOPE - THEIR ALTERED LEVELS IN BREAST-CARCINOMA PATIENTS

Immunoreactive Tn is a pancarcinoma epitope resulting from aberrant gl ycosylation of mucins in primary carcinomas and their metastases; stro ng Tn epitope expression is associated with poor prognosis. All humans have anti-Tn antibodies, natural anticarcinoma antibodies, predominan tly IgM, elicited primarily by their own intestinal flora. Anti-Tn IgM levels were determined by us, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent as say and interrelated to the total IgM of the subject's serum by the fo rmula: Anti-Tn Q(Me), = 100 x [(Anti-Tn IgM)(2)/Total IgM]. Anti-Tn Q( Me) had higher sensitivity and comparable specificity to anti-Tn IgM a lone in breast carcinoma detection. Anti-Tn Q(Me) results were positiv e in 79% of the 119 breast carcinoma patients tested; they were negati ve in 84% of the 32 patients with benign breast disease and in 94% of the 49 healthy controls. Further studies of immune responses to the pa thogenetic functions of this marker in carcinoma are indicated.