Immunohistochemical evaluation of sialosyl-Tn antigens in various ovarian carcinomas.
Sialosyl-Tn (S-Tn) antigen, a cancer-related antigen, was expressed in 56.3% (36 of 64 cases) of the common epithelial carcinoma tissues. This antigen was moderately to strongly expressed in 83.3% (15 of 18 cases) of the mucinous adenocarcinomas. In contrast, it was weakly expressed in 31.3% (5 of 16 cases) of the serous adenocarcinomas. Expression of this antigen in ovarian mucinous tumors of borderline malignancy was 80% (4 of 5 cases), and the staining was moderately intense. S-Tn reactivity was found in 11.5% (3 of 26 cases) of benign ovarian neoplasms. The S-Tn antigen was not found in either normal ovarian tissues or the normal vaginal squamous epithelia. We conclude that the S-Tn antigen may be useful in the histological classification of ovarian carcinomas and in the determination of the malignant potential of such lesions. Moreover, because increases in serum S-Tn antigen were often accompanied by its positive expression in tumor tissues, the S-Tn antigen appears to be a tumor marker in sera with a high specificity for ovarian carcinoma, particularly mucinous adenocarcinoma.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shimane Medical University, Izumo, Japan.
K
K
Ryuko
O
O
Iwanari
M
M
Kitao
S
S
Moriwaki
D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D015295:Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C055491:sialosyl-Tn antigen