title: An immunohistochemical investigation of diagnostic biopsy material taken from short and long term survivors with small cell lung cancer.
abstract: An immunohistochemical study has been carried out on fibre optic-biopsy specimens from patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) who had either died within 3 months, or who had survived more than 2 years. Long term survivors (LTS) were identified from completed clinical trials at major UK centres and were matched for age and sex within the trial with short term survivors (STS). The panel of immunohistochemical markers included those previously reported to be associated with prognosis, and reagents representative of both neuroendocrine and epithelial differentiation. A preliminary screen of 17 antibodies identified 11 as consistently reactive on paraffin-embedded material using streptavadin-biotin immunoperoxidase. Of 186 identified patients, 110 biopsy samples were retrieved. Of these, 70 gave sufficient material for analysis. All sections were scored by three observers without knowledge of the prognosis. The analysis failed to identify any antigen whose expression was correlated with prognosis. We conclude that, in fibre-optic biopsy specimens, immunohistochemical analysis does not add prognostic information in SCLC.
authors.affiliation: ICRF Human Tumour Immunology Group, University College and Middlesex School of Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Bobrow
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Hay
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Happerfield
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Skov
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Law
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Leonard
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Souhami
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D001706:Biopsy; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D009077:Mucins / Q000032:analysis; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase / Q000032:analysis; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D002272:Carcinoembryonic Antigen; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal; D009077:Mucins; D010751:Phosphopyruvate Hydratase