title: [Clinical implication of serum antibody to Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen in patients with gynecological malignancies].
abstract: Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen (T-antigen) is a carbohydrate antigen that is expressed in a variety of cancer tissues. T-antigen is thought to have an antigenicity because circulating T antibodies can be detected as natural antibodies in humans. In this study, we examined the serum T antibody titers in patients with gynecological cancer using the hemagglutination test, and studied the relationship between the expression of T-antigen in cancer tissues and serum TA-4 levels and serum T antibody titers. Serum T antibody titers in patients with gynecological cancer were lower than those in normal controls, especially in endometrial and ovarian cancer (p less than 0.05) in which T-antigen was strongly expressed. Furthermore, the low antibody titers correlated with the expression of T-antigen in cancer tissues. T antibody titers significantly increased (p less than 0.01) after operation and the inverse relationship was found with the levels of circulating TA-4 in cervical cancer patients. These findings suggests that patients with gynecological cancer immunologically responded to T-antigen and the measurement of circulating T antibodies may be useful as an indicator of the progression of cancer in tissues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Tokushima.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasui
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shitsukawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Furumoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Daitoh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Irahara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamada
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D004187:Disaccharides / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D004187:Disaccharides; C036649:tumor antigen TA-4, human; C016467:Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen; C025991:Thomsen-Friedenreich antibodies