The carbohydrate antigen 19-9 in serum and tissue of patients with lung cancer

Abstract

The Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 in Serum and Tissue of Patients with Lung Cancer Takayoshi Tashiro, Jun Goto, Hideaki Shigeno, Yoichiro Goto, Yoshinobu Kuroda and Masaru Nasu The Second Department of Internal Medicine, Medical College of Oita, Oita, Japan The 19-9 monoclonal antibody, prepared by Koprowski et al., reacts with a carbohydrate antigenic determinant (CA 19-9) which has been identified as a sialylated lacto-N-fucopentaose II. CA19-9 has been known to be a useful tumor marker for gastrointestinal carcinoma, especially pancreatic cancer. The authors investigated the significance of this antigen for lung cancer. We measured serum CA 19-9 concentration in 56 patients with lung cancer by a forward sandwich type radi-oimmunometric assay (cut-off value 37 U/ml), and immunostained the antigen in 32 lung cancer tissue by an immunoperoxidase assay. The positive rate of serum CA 19-9 concentration was 16%, lower than that of carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA). The concentration of the antigen was markedly increased in patients with bronchial gland type adenocarcinoma, and strongly stained in cancer tissue. © 1988, The Japan Lung Cancer Society. All rights reserved.