DTIC ADA370249: A New Immunologic Method for Detection of Occult Breast Cancer

📝 Description

These investigations were undertaken to evaluate the utility of TA90-IC, an immune complex of 90-kE) tumor-associated glycoprotein antigen and IgG antibody, compared with mammography as a screening tool for early breast cancer. Serum was drawn preoperatively from patients, coded, and tested for TA90- IC. An optical density (OD) >- 0.41 at 405 nm was considered positive based on three standard deviations above the mean of 250 normal controls. Of the 138 patients studied, 109 had an abnormal mammogram, and 29 had a normal mammogram. There was a significant difference in TA90-IC values between the 82 patients with benign lesions and the 42 patients with invasive carcinoma (0.253I0.236 and 0.436+%0.209 OD, respectively, p=O.OOOl). In the abnormal mammogram group, 14 had ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and 36 had an invasive carcinoma; among the subgroup of 41 patients with a positive TA90-IC, 31 had invasive carcinoma and 4 had DCIS. Of the 29 patients with a normal mammogram, 6 had invasive carcinoma that in 4 cases was accompanied by a positive TA90-IC. Of the 97 patients with a negative TA90-IC, 21(22%) had a malignancy: 10 had DCIS and 11 had an invasive carcinoma. Therefore, serum TA90-IC assay appears to be a useful adjunct to mammography.