IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL EXPRESSION OF ABH LEWIS-RELATED ANTIGENS IN PRIMARY BREAST CARCINOMAS AND METASTATIC LYMPH-NODE LESIONS/

The expression of blood group antigens A, B, and H, as well as sialyla ted and nonsialylated forms of Lewis(a) and Lewis(x), was studied usin g immunohistochemical methods in normal and tumor tissues in the follo wing cohort of patients: 51 patients with primary breast carcinoma, 13 with metastatic lymph node lesions, and 16 with benign tumors of the breast. As a control, normal tissue was obtained from a similar group of 22 patients with breast cancer. The noncancerous tissues expressed the same A/B/H antigens as the patients' red blood cells and also usua lly expressed Lewis-related antigens. Seventy-six percent of primary c arcinomas failed to express the appropriate A/B/H antigens, and in one blood group A patient the tumor tissue expressed B antigen. In the me tastatic lesions, Lewis(a)/sialyl Lewis(a) expression was reduced when compared with the primary tumors, but Lewis(x)/sialyl Lewis(x) antige ns were still expressed. These results suggest a possible relationship between the metastatic behavior of the tumor and expression of the bl ood group antigens.