title: Up-regulation of a tumor-associated antigen (tag-72) by interferon-alpha and interferon-gamma in patients with cutaneous breast-cancer recurrences.
abstract: Up-regulation of a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) TAG-72 was investigated immunohistochemically in skin recurrences of 10 breast cancer patients treated with intralesional injections of natural interferons (nIFNs) alpha and gamma. Up-regulation was assessed by comparing the immunoreactivity of pre-IFN and post-IFN specimens stained with monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) B72.3 and CC49 at near end-point dilutions. Varying degrees of enhanced immunoreactivity were detected in IFN-injected and non-IFN-injected lesions except in 1 patient with high constitutive expression of TAG-72 and another patient not expressing TAG-72. Thus, IFN-mediated up-regulation of TAG-72 can occur in patients whose breast cancer cells express this TAA, independently of the initial levels of antigenic expression.
authors.affiliation: COLUMBIA UNIV,COLL PHYS & SURG,NEW YORK,NY 10032. NATL PUBL HLTH INST,SF-00300 HELSINKI,FINLAND. UNIV MED & DENT NEW JERSEY,ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MED SCH,PISCATAWAY,NJ 08854.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ozzello
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Derosa
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Habif
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cantell
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pestka