Delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity,lymphocyte count,and blood tests in patients with breast carcinoma

General immunocompetence was examined in 125 patients with various stages of breast cancer. Tests include peripheral blood lymphocyte count, serum protein electrophoresis, quantitative immunoglobulins, CEA level, and delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity (DCH) reaction to six recall antigens (PPD, Monilia, mumps, Varidase, histoplasmin, and coccidioidin). About one third of the patients responded positively to each of the first four antigens, whereas 12% reacted to histoplasmin and 4% to coccidioidin. In this study, DCH to recall antigens had no prognostic value because the distributions of skin test reactivity were similar among patients with different stages of breast carcinoma. And among patients with similar stage of disease the relapse rates were similar for those who reacted and those who were anergic. But peripheral lymphocyte count had definite prognostic value because patients with advanced stage (group III/IV) and those who were anergic had significantly lower lymphocyte counts. Among patients with relatively early stages of breast carcinoma (group I/II), those who had higher lymphocyte count (≧ 2,000/mm³) had lower chance of having relapse up to 5 years after mastectomy.     

Serum levels and biochemical characteristics of human ovarian carcinoma-associated antigen defined by murine monoclonal antibody, CF511

The murine monoclonal antibody (Mab) against human common epithelial ovarian carcinoma, CF511, was generated by immunising mice with human fetal tissue extract from early first trimester, followed by booster injection of an ovarian cancer cell line. Mab CF511 recognised the 600 kDa sialylated glycoprotein as different from previously known tumour associated-marker antigens. Distribution of the Mab CF511-recognised antigen (CF511 antigen) in various tissues and sera was investigated. In immunohistochemical analysis, Mab CF511 reacted strongly with tumour cells of ovarian serous, clear cell, endometrioid and undifferentiated carcinoma and partially with those of mucinous carcinoma. Mab CF511 also reacted with breast carcinoma as well as lung carcinoma. In normal tissues, Mab CF511 cross-reacted with only five tissues, namely lung, breast, thyroid gland, fallopian tube and uterus. Serum levels of CF511 antigen were tested by ELISA inhibition using Mab CF511. This assay showed the circulating CF511 antigen levels to be elevated in 25 of 36 sera from patients with various clinical stages of common epithelial ovarian carcinoma compared to three of 47 and three of 111 sera from patients with other benign gynaecological diseases, including ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids with or without endometriosis and normal healthy subjects, respectively. For the relation between antigen levels and clinical stages of common epithelial ovarian carcinoma, greater than 34.0% ELISA inhibition was detected in 100% of patients with advanced stages (FIGO III and IV) compared with in 35.3% with early stages (FIGO I and II) patients. While patients with breast carcinoma (100%) and lung carcinoma (100%) also had elevated circulating CF511 antigen levels, patients with hepatoma, colorectal carcinoma and gastric carcinoma had no detectable elevation of antigen. Although the test showed a high degree of specificity, the detection of an elevated CF511 antigen level would not be so helpful in distinguishing patients with ovarian carcinoma from those with either breast carcinoma or lung carcinoma. These data suggest that CF511 antigen is a useful new ovarian tumour marker for diagnosis and management of the disease.     

Immediate hypersensitivity to Malassezia furfur in patients with atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic pruritic dermatitis that has unknown aetiology. It seems that Malassezia furfur has a role in pathogenesis of AD. The purpose of this study was to evaluate skin responses to M. furfur antigens in AD patients. Malassezia furfur was grown and the yeasts were broken. Cells were centrifuged and supernatants were used as crude extracts (CE). Protein components of CE were separated by sodium dodecylsulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). In addition, to fractionate CE antigens, gel filtration chromatography was performed. One hundred and fifteen AD patients were selected for skin-prick test (SPT). In SDS-PAGE, CE showed a total of 19 different protein bands (10-100 kDa). Chromatographic gel filtration with M. furfur proteins showed four major fractions (F). The protein pattern of F(1) (tube no. 40) was between 22 and 100 kDa and it was selected for SPT. In SPT, 49.6% and 42.6% patients showed positive reactions with CE and F(1) antigens respectively. The most positive results were obtained in 20-29 aged group (P < 0.001). The allergens of M. furfur may have a role in AD signs; it is suggested to use F(1) antigens in allergy tests.     

Identity of the soluble EBV-associated antigens of human lymphoid cell lines

The reactions of human sera with antigens prepared from five human lymphoid cell lines were studied by immunodiffusion. Two major precipitation lines occurred with QIMR-WIL antigens; one (S line) due to a soluble antigen and the other (F line) due to a sedimentable antigen. A close association in human sera of precipitins producing the S line with antibody to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) detectable by immunofluorescence (Henle test) and by complement fixation (CF) tests indicated a specific association of the S line with EBV, but the nature of the F line was not clarified. Soluble antigens prepared from five lymphoid cell lines (including Raji) contained at least one common identical heat-resistant component, defined as the antigen giving the S line. The ease of detection of the S antigen in cell lines by immunodiffusion appeared to be related to the titre of the soluble EBV-associated CF antigen, and the evidence suggested that the soluble CF and ID antigens were probably identical.     

Evaluation of Candida albicans allergens reactive with specific IgE in asthma and atopic eczema patients

Candida albicans ( C. albicans ) produces important allergenic components which can induce allergic reactions in sensitised patients. The purpose of this study was to extract the C. albicans antigens for evaluating the specific anti- Candida IgE in sera of atopic eczema (AE) and asthmatic patients (AS). 95 AE, 85 AS, and 70 non-atopic cases were selected with sequential trials. Candida albicans antigens were prepared and then skin prick test (SPT), ELISA and IgE-immunoblotting tests were performed for all patients. Positive SPT reactions were obtained on 52.6% of AE and 54.1% of AS patients and 4.3% of healthy controls ( P  < 0.05). Using ELISA, specific anti- C. albicans IgE antibody was detected in 32.6% and 41.2% of patients with AE and AS, respectively. No specific IgE antibody was detected in healthy controls ( P  < 0.05). In SDS-PAGE, protein bands with molecular weights between 13 and 135 kDa were detected, and some of them reacted with specific IgE in immunoblotting. In AE patients, the most important allergenic components were 25, 34, and 57 kDa protein bands, whereas in AS, 22, 25, and 34 kDa protein bands were observed as major allergens. Candida albicans produces different allergenic components that can induce allergic reactions and may be pathogenetically important in patients with AE and AS.     

Antibody response to Epstein-Barr virus Rta protein in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a new serologic parameter for diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is associated closely with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The authors previously reported that an EBV immediate-early gene, BRLF1, was expressed frequently in NPC tumors, and a significant elevation in immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies directed against BRLF1 gene product Rta was detected in NPC sera by a radioactive immunoprecipitation assay. To simplify and to make the detection more quantitative, an enzyme-linked immnunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed in this study. METHODS: Antigen domains of Rta were identified further using an immunoprecipitation assay. Two glutathione-S-transferase (GST) recombinant Rta fragments (R150-GST and R185-GST) were prepared subsequently and were used as antigens in the ELISA. Serum samples derived from 51 patients with NPC patients, 115 non-NPC ENT patients, and 47 healthy volunteers were examined for the presence of antibodies directed against Rta. RESULTS: Among the patients with NPC, 74.5% showed a positive IgG response to R150-GST, and 62.7% showed a positive IgG response to R185-GST, with 80.4% positive for either fragment. In contrast, the reactions were positive in only 8.5% of healthy volunteers and 13.0% of control patients. When using a mixture of the two recombinant Rta proteins as coating antigens, the IgG positive responses were 82.3%, 10.6%, and 14.8%, respectively, in patients with NPC, healthy volunteers, and control patients. It is noteworthy that 51.0% of the NPC sera showed a positive immunoglobulin A (IgA) response, with none of the control patients showing obvious reactivity. Both the IgG response and the IgA response to Rta protein in patients with NPC were correlated with the IgA response to EBV early antigens and virus capsid antigens, the classic serologic markers used to diagnose NPC. CONCLUSIONS: The ELISA method described for the detection of IgG antibodies directed against recombinant Rta proteins is simple and reliable and may be useful as a serologic parameter for the screening and diagnosis of patients with NPC.     

Accelerated radiation therapy for locally advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity and oropharynx selected according to tumor cell kinetics-A phase II multicenter study

A Phase II multicenter trial testing an accelerated regimen of radiotherapy in locally advanced and inoperable cancers of the head and neck, in patients selected on the basis of 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine/DNA flow cytometry-derived tumor potential doubling time (T_pot).

From September 1992 to September 1993, 23 patients consecutively diagnosed to have locally advanced, inoperable carcinomas of the oral cavity and the oropharynx, with T_pot of ≤ 5 days, received an accelerated radiotherapy regimen (AF) based on a modification of the concomitant boost technique: 2 Gy/fraction once a day, delivered 5 days a week up to 26 Gy, followed by 2 Gy/fraction twice a day, with a 6-h interval, one of the two fractions being delivered as a concomitant boost to reduced fields, up to 66 Gy total dose (off-cord reduction at 46 Gy), shortening the overall treatment time to 4.5 weeks. A contemporary control group of 46 patients with T_pot of >5 days or unknown was treated with conventional fractionation (CF):2 Gy/fraction once a fay, 5 days a week, up to 66 Gy in 6.5 weeks, with fields skrinkage after 46 Gy.

All patients completed the accelerated regimen according to protocol and in the prescribed overall treatment time. Immediate tolerance was fairly good: 65% of the patients inthe AF group experienced Grade 3 mucositis vs. 45% in thee CF group (p = n.s.). Symptoms related to mucosal reactions seemed to persist longer in AF than in CF patients. The crude proportion of mild (Grades 1 and 2) late effects on skin (p < 0.01) and salivary glands (p < 0.05) was higher in AF than in CF patients, although these reactions dis not exceed the limits of tolerance. Three patients in the AF and 1 in the CF arm experienced a late Grade 4 bone complication. Actuarial estimates of severe (Grade 3 and 4) late complications showed a 2-year hazard of 33.3% in the AF arm and 49.7% in CF (p = NS). The actuarial 2-year local control rate of the AF patients was 49.4%, while actuarial 2-year overall survival for the same patients was 43.5%.

The results suggested that this accelerated regimen is worth testing in a controlled randomized trial to compare different accelerated schedules. Our findings also confirmed the 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine/DNA flow cytometry technique as a suitable method of evaluating tumor cell kinetics in multicenter clinical studies, on conditions thal all measurements are carried out by one most experienced laboratory.     

Sequential evaluation of cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity responses to recall and to lymphoid cell line antigens in Burkitt's lymphoma

Delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions to standard recall antigens (candidin, mumps and PPD), to crude membrane extracts of a cell line derived from Burkitt's lymphoma (Raji) and to a cell line derived from normal lymphocytes (F265) were sequentially evaluated in 44 patients with Burkitt's lymphoma. Sixteen patients (36%) manifested delayed hypersensitivity responses to the standard antigens and seven (16%) to the Raji membrane extract at presentation. Following successful chemotherapy, there was prompt and significant improvement of reactivity to both the standard and Raji antigens (p>0.001), suggesting that the initial impairment of delayed hypersensitivity was most likely related to tumor burden. By 9 months after treatment, all patients in sustained remission expressed reactivity to Raji and 21 of 22 to the standard antigens. None of the patients skin-tested with the F265 extract at presentation gave a positive response and only one subsequently expressed reactivity after remission was induced. On relapse, reactivity to the standard antigens was more readily lost (4 of 11) than reactivity to the Raji extract (1 of 7). Pretreatment delayed hypersensitivity to the standard antigens also correlated better with long-term survival than to pretreatment responses to Raji. It remains to be determined whether the antigens expressed in the Raji extract are indeed tumor-specific or related to Epstein-Barr virus.     

Delayed hypersensitivity reactions in patients bearing malignant brain tumors with human tumor cell lines grown in vitro

Delayed hypersensitivity reactions in patients bearing malignant brain tumors with humain tumor cell lines grown in vitro Human neoplastic cells grown in vitro from brain tumors behave as strng antigens; these antigens may be used for detecting the cell-bound immunity of patients bearing malignant tumors. It is suggested that this crossed immunity is related with a common tumor antigen linked with the transplantation associated tumor antigen, but different. The delayed hypersensitivity reaction could thus be used for the diagnosis of the neoplastic disease as the tuberculin test for tuberculosis, but is of no value for prognosis and evolution. These results should be repeated on a large scale: isolation of the antigen and clinical experimentation are in process.     

Type-I and type-III HTLV antibodies in hospitalized and out-patient Zairians

Sera from 182 Zairians (99 females and 83 males), aged 5 to 71 years, including maternity and child care consultants, out-patients suffering from minor injuries and patients hospitalized for tuberculosis, malaria or trauma, were analyzed for specific antibodies to HTLV-I and HTLV-III. Following pre-screening by the ELISA technique, reactive sera were further analyzed for specificity to HTLV-I or HTLV-III antigens by competition and/or Western blotting experiments. African sera, possibly because they have higher immunoglobulin levels than US and European sera, are highly reactive in ELISA systems and confirmatory assays are essential to rule out false-positive results. Confirmed antibody prevalence for HTLV-I was 13.2% (II females and 13 males) and increased with age, suggesting continuous exposure to the virus throughout life. Confirmed antibody prevalence for HTLV-III was 6.0% (8 females and 3 males) and showed a peak age range between 21 and 40 years, suggesting heterosexual transmission. Individuals positive for HTLV-I antibodies were not the same as individuals positive for HTLV-III antibodies, suggesting that infection with one virus did not increase susceptibility to infection by the other virus. Further investigations of the epidemiology and of the immunovirology of HTLV-III in Zaire, in relation to acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-associated pathologies, should enlighten the question of the significant percentage of HTLV-III-infected individuals who do not manifest symptoms of AIDS.     

Detection of monoclonal antibodies for tumor diagnosis with the use of inhibition of micro-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

A micro-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test and an ELISA inhibition test were developed and used to detect 4 monoclonal antibodies potentially useful for serodiagnosis of cancer. The 4 antibodies used in conjunction detected 73% of 71 sera from cancer patients and 8% of 42 sera from normal persons. Separately, the 4 antibodies reacted to tumors from various sites such as lung, breast, colon, stomach, and ovary. The ELISA inhibition assay may be useful for detecting culture supernatants reactive against tumor-associated serum antigens. Eventually, a panel of monoclonal antibodies detecting various tumors may be obtainable.     

Epstein-Barr virus-associated complement-fixing and nuclear antigens in Burkitt lymphoma biopsies

Cells from Burkitt lymphoma (BL) biopsies were examined for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated antigens by complement fixation (CF) tests and by the anti-complement immunofluorescence (ACIF) test. In CF tests, anticomplementary factors made it difficult to test all the biopsies available. However, biopsies from 19 patients were effectively tested and 12 of these (including two from one patient) contained antigen reacting with a battery of human sera with antibody to EBV but not with sera lacking such antibody. Technical difficulties prevented further characterization of the EBV-related antigens in the biopsies. Application of the ACIF test to BL revealed the presence of EBV-related nuclear antigen in biopsies from 11 of 13 patients. Absorption studies indicated that the nuclear antigens of the biopsies were closely related antigenically to the EBV-determined nuclear antigen (EBNA) previously described in lymphoblastoid cell lines. It is concluded that cells of BL biopsies may contain EBNA in addition to the EBV-related membrane antigen previously described. The results provide further evidence that BL cells from African patients resemble non-producer lymphoblastoid cell lines in containing EBNA and therefore appear to be transformed by EBV.     

加速分割放疗配合同期化疗治疗晚期鼻咽癌

背景与目的：临床研究表明,常规分割放射疗法治疗晚期鼻咽癌(nasopharyngeal carcinoma,NPC)的疗效不理想,采用非常规分割放疗以及放疗配合化疗治疗晚期NPC成为目前研究的重点。本研究的目的是探讨加速分割放疗以及同期化疗治疗晚期NPC的治疗效果和放射反应。方法：将我院1993年6月。1996年6月经病理检查证实、首程接受放射治疗的416例晚期NPC患者随机分为3组：加速分割放疗(accelerated fractionated radiotherapy,AF)组138例,每周照射6天,每天1次,每次180-190cGy,共46-49天,总剂量7400-7600cGy;加速分割放疗同期化疗(accelerated fractionated radiotherapy with concurrent chemotherapy,AFC)组139例,放疗方法同AF组,每周加顺铂和5-氟尿嘧啶各10次;常规分割放疗(conventional fractionated radiotherapy,CF)组139例,每周照射5天,每天1次,每次200cGy,总剂量7000--7500cGy。观察各组患者的局部复发率,5年生存率和放射反应。结果：随访超过5年,AF组和AFC组的局部复发率低于CF组,分别为16．7％     

Horizontal studies of cell mediated immune reactions to autologous tumour antigens in patients with operable mammary carcinoma.

The leucocyte migration and guinea-pig macrophage migration procedures were used to assess cell mediated, tumour directed immune reactions in patients with mammary carcinoma undergoing simple mastectomy with or without post-operative irradiation. Forty-seven per cent of patients reacted to autologous tumour antigens and 40% to allogeneic antigens when tested 7 days after operation; 23% reacted to autologous antigens at 2 months, 19% at 6 months and 34% at 1 year after surgery. Reactions to benign tissue fractions were rare. Better discrimination between test and control subjects was obtained when 3000 g sediments rather than nuclei-depleted homogenates (extracts) were used. Irradiation 3-7 weeks post-operatively did not depress the in vitro response at 2 months and yielded a higher rate of positive reactions at 6 months. Correlations of serial LMT responses with certain clinical findings are discussed.     

Panel of autoantibodies against multiple tumor‐associated antigens for detecting gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the world, and effective diagnosis is extremely important for good outcome. We assessed the diagnostic potential of an autoantibody panel that may provide a novel tool for the early detection of gastric cancer. We analyzed data from patients with gastric cancer and normal controls in test and validation cohorts. Autoantibody levels were measured against a panel of six tumor‐associated antigens (TAAs) by ELISA: p53, heat shock protein 70, HCC‐22‐5, peroxiredoxin VI, KM‐HN‐1, and p90 TAA. We assessed serum autoantibodies in 100 participants in the test cohort. The validation cohort comprised 248 participants. Autoantibodies to at least one of the six antigens showed a sensitivity/specificity of 49.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 39.2–58.8%)/92.4% (95% CI, 87.2–97.6%), and 52.0% (95% CI, 42.2–61.8%)/90.5% (95% CI, 84.8–96.3%) in the test and validation cohorts, respectively. In the validation cohort, no significant differences were seen when patients were subdivided based on age, sex, depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, peritoneal dissemination, or TNM stage. Patients who were positive for more than two antibodies in the panel tended to have a worse prognosis than those who were positive for one or no antibody. Measurement of autoantibody response to multiple TAAs in an optimized panel assay to discriminate patients with early stage gastric cancer from normal controls may aid in the early detection of gastric cancer.     

In vivo cell-mediated immunity in Chinese patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Delayed hypersensitivity to antigens derived from four EBV-related (KHLY 28, Raji, F265 and NC37) and one EBV-unrelated (Molt) T-lymphoid cell lines and to standard antigens (Trichophyton, Candida albicans and streptokinase/streptodornase) was measured in 104 NPC patients and 24 patients with other cancers. Of the NPC patients with non-disseminated disease, 55/86 (63.2%) had a positive skin reaction to HKLY 28 extract, compared with only 1/18 (5.6%) OC patients with non-disseminated disease. The frequencies of these NPC patients with positive skin reactions to the other cell-line extracts were significantly lower (1.7-5.4%). From the preliminary results of a longitudinal study, skin testing with this particular crude membrane extract from HKLY 28 cells appears to be of little practical value in monitoring the clinical evolution of NPC, although a significant association between clinical evolution and certain patterns of skin reactivity response to the extract was found in about two-thirds of the cases analysed.     

Monoclonal antibodies against a Mycobacterium tuberculosis Ag85B-Hsp16.3 fusion protein

The secreted Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) proteins, Ag85B and Hsp16.3, have been the focus of intensive research in recent years. These proteins have high sensitivity in bacterium-negative tuberculosis (TB) patients, and are valuable for the rapid diagnosis of bacterium-negative TB. Fusion proteins including multiple antigens such as Ag85B and Hsp16.3 provide improved sensitivity and specificity for serological diagnosis of active TB compared with a single antigen. Many studies have shown that the production of MAbs recognizing a specific repertoire of M. tuberculosis antigens and the tests based on monoclonal antibodies have been found to be valuable in positive detection of TB, particularly for smear-positive pulmonary TB. A number of MAbs are currently used for serodiagnosis of TB. Therefore, an Ag85B-Hsp16.3 fusion protein was expressed and purified using an E. coli system in this study. Three Ag85B-Hsp16.3 fusion protein-specific MAbs were generated by routine murine hybridoma techniques. The titer, specificity, and relative affinity of all three MAbs were determined by ELISA and the serological responses were analyzed. The levels of antigens in a proportion of TB patients were shown to be significantly higher than those in healthy controls. The sensitivity and specificity of the currently available detection systems is likely to be improved by the employment of a combination of these MAbs with others that are already in use.     

Clinical course of sarcoidosis in dependence on HLA-DRB1 allele frequencies, inflammatory markers, and the presence of M. tuberculosis DNA fragments

BACKGROUND AND AIM: For sarcoidosis it is generally hypothesized that inherited factors and environmental antigens may contribute to pathogenesis. Since M. tuberculosis DNA was found in a significant percentage of sarcoidosis patients, we analyzed the relationship between HLA-DRB1 alleles, inflammatory markers and the presence of M. tuberculosis DNA in sarcoidosis and its influence on clinical course. METHODS: From 144 patients with sarcoidosis lung tissue, BAL and/or blood were investigated by means of PCR assays to detect an 123 bp multicopy element of M. tuberculosis DNA and HLA-DRB1 alleles, respectively. ACE was measured spectrophotometrically, sIL-2R by ELISA. Clinical data describing the disease course were available from 63 patients. RESULTS: The percentage of M. tuberculosis positive sarcoidosis patients was significantly increased in the chronic patients group compared to acute disease. The percentage of HLA-DRB 1*03 positive patients was significantly higher in acute sarcoidosis, whereas in chronic disease the HLA-DRB1*11 positive patients were clearly over-represented. In addition, we found a highly significant correlation of HLA-DRB1*11 or -DRB1*15 alleles and/or the presence of M. tuberculosis DNA to a chronic disease course, whereas HLA-DRB1*03 or -DRB1*04 alleles combined with the absence of M. tuberculosis DNA were associated with an acute sarcoidosis (p = 0.009). ACE and sIL2-R serum levels were significantly higher in M. tuberculosis positive sarcoidosis independent of the HLA-DRB1 specificity, but did not differ between acute and chronic disease course alone. CONCLUSIONS: The association between certain HLA-DR antigens, the presence of M. tuberculosis DNA and disease course indicates that specific antigens of M. tuberculosis may play a pathogenetic role in chronic sarcoidosis.     

Mini-Array of Multiple Tumor-associated Antigens (TAAs) in the Immunodiagnosis of Esophageal Cancer

Sera of cancer patients may contain antibodies that react with a unique group of autologous cellular antigenscalled tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). The present study aimed to determine whether a mini-array ofmultiple TAAs would enhance antibody detection and be a useful approach in esophageal cancer detection anddiagnosis. Our mini-array of multiple TAAs consisted of eleven antigens, p53, pl6, Impl, CyclinB1, C-myc, RalA,p62, Survivin, Koc, CyclinD1 and CyclinE full-length recombinant proteins. Enzyme-linked immunosorbentassays (ELISA) were used to detect autoantibodies against eleven selected TAAs in 174 sera from patients withesophageal cancer, as well as 242 sera from normal individuals. In addition, positive results of ELISA wereconfirmed by Western blotting. In a parallel screening trial, with the successive addition of antigen to a finaltotal of eleven TAAs, there was a stepwise increase in positive antibody reactions. The eleven TAAs were the bestparallel combination, and the sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing esophageal cancer was 75.3% and 81.0%,respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 74.0% and 82.0%, respectively, indicating that theparallel assay of eleven TAAs raised the diagnostic precision significantly. In addition, the levels of antibodies toseven antigens, comprising p53, Impl, C-myc, RalA, p62, Survivin, and CyclinD1, were significantly different invarious stages of esophageal cancer, which showed that autoantibodies may be involved in the pathogenesis andprogression of esophageal cancer. All in all, this study further supports our previous hypothesis that a combinationof antibodies might acquire higher sensitivity for the diagnosis of certain types of cancer. A customized miniarrayof multiple carefully-selected TAAs is able to enhance autoantibody detection in the immunodiagnosis ofesophageal cancer and autoantibodies to TAAs might be reference indicators of clinical stage.     

Responses of serum from breast cancer patients to murine mammary tumor virus: fact or artifact?

For determination of whether breast cancer patients possessed specific serological responses to murine mammary tumor virus (MuMTV), IgG-binding levels were monitored by antibody binding to electrophoretically separated viral proteins (Western blotting and immunodetection) and by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against a panel of five structural proteins (gp55, gp34, p28, p18, and p12) purified from milk-borne MuMTV of the RIII isogeneic mouse strain. No significant antibody reactions were found for sera from 30 cancer patients by the immunoblotting assay, and comparative ELISA studies of 111 patients with malignant mastopathies and 122 healthy, age-matched women revealed no significantly increased mean antibody responses against gp55, gp34, p28, or p12 in breast cancer patients as compared to the responses in the control group. Only for p18 was there a significant increase in mean IgG-binding levels in cancer patients. Additional assays of antibody binding to viral antigens were performed by the cellular immunofluorescence test on MuMTV-expressing cells. These studies also failed to demonstrate greater immunoreactivity of sera from patients as opposed to the immunoreactivity of sera from healthy controls.