title: Detection of the tumor-associated glycoprotein antigen (TAG-72) in premalignant lesions of the colon.
abstract: We used monoclonal antibody B72.3 to study the expression of the colorectal carcinoma-associated antigen TAG-72 in premalignant colonic lesions with the immunoperoxidase technique. This antigen, which is rarely detectable in the normal colonic epithelium, was expressed in 13 of 19 adenomas with moderate to severe dysplasia and nine of nine cases of inflammatory bowel disease. The antibody reacted with the normal-appearing mucosa adjacent to a carcinoma in 10 of 12 cases, although only eight of the tumors expressed the antigen. The expression of the TAG-72 antigen in the colonic epithelium may be an early marker of malignant transformation.
authors.affiliation: Mallory Institute of Pathology, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: D'Emilia
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Salem
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: DeCoste
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Sears
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Gottlieb
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Steele
mesh_terms: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000276:immunology; D003111:Colonic Polyps / Q000276:immunology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000276:immunology; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D006023:Glycoproteins; C047052:tumor-associated antigen 72