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Anti-Squamous Tumor Antibodies in Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma¹

Department of Microbiology and Immunology-Immunobiology Group [H. S.] and Department of Surgery-Urology [C. O'T.], UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California 90024

Patients with advanced squamous cell carcinomas were shown to have serum antibodies directed towards cultured squamous tumor cells as shown by quantitative membrane immunofluorescence. The sera of these same patients did not react with a variety of other cultured tumor cells. Serum obtained from normals or from patients with other forms of cancer (transitional cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and melanoma) did not given positive reactions. When the sera of squamous carcinoma patients were chromatographed on Sephadex G-150, tumor-reactive antibodies were recovered solely in the 19 S fraction, suggesting immunoglobulin M as the immunoglobulin isotype involved. Identification of the squamous tumor cell-reactive immunoglobulin as immunoglobulin M was confirmed by quantitative immunofluorescence with the use of class monospecific antisera to human immunoglobulins.

¹ This work was supported by Grant CA16880 from the National Bladder Cancer Project and by the University of California Cancer Research Coordinating Committee Grant 76LA34.

² Present address: Department of Urology, University of Tennessee, Memphis, Tenn. 38163.

Received 3/23/77. Accepted 10/17/77.