title: Immunoreactive transforming growth factor alpha is commonly present in colorectal neoplasia.
abstract: Surgical specimens from 19 patients with invasive colorectal cancers and 12 specimens of normal mucosa from the same patients were examined immunohistochemically for the production of the immunoreactive (IR-) transforming growth factor (TGF)-alpha and IR-epidermal growth factor (EGF) with an anti-TGF-alpha monoclonal antibody (MAb) OAL-MTG01 and anti-EGF MAb KEM-10. Immunoreactive TGF-alpha was detected in 16 (84.2%) of 19 colorectal cancers. In contrast, there was no IR-TGF-alpha in the gland cells of normal mucosa. Immunoreactive EGF was detected in 7 (36.8%) of 19 colorectal cancers and 1 (8.3%) of 12 cases of normal mucosa. The production of both IR-TGF-alpha and IR-EGF in colorectal cancer did not differ by histologic type and Dukes' stage. Immunoreactive TGF-alpha was detected at significantly higher incidence than IR-EGF in colorectal cancer. These results indicate that IR-TGF-alpha should prove valuable as a possible tumor marker in colorectal cancers, and it may be very useful in understanding the biology of colorectal cancer.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Hiroshima University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imanishi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshihara
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Haruma
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sumii
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kajiyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akamatsu
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D003429:Cross Reactions; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D012016:Reference Values; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D016211:Transforming Growth Factor alpha