The 17-1A antigen is expressed on primary, metastatic and disseminated non-small cell lung carcinoma cells

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Abstract
In view of the high incidence of early distant tumor relapses in apparently completely resected (R0, M0) non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there is a need for an adjuvant therapy. Considering the low tumor burden in these patients, an adjuvant therapy with monoclonal antibodies (i.e., the 17‐1A MAb) might be appropriate. The purpose of our study was to test whether the 17‐1A antigen is expressed on primary and metastatic NSCLC carcinoma cells. Using immunohistochemistry, the expression of 17‐1A was analysed in primary tumors (n = 60) and in lymph node metastases (n = 7) of patients with NSCLC. Additionally, we investigated in 6 patients the expression of 17‐1A on disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow, which were detected by the pan‐cytokeratin MAb A45‐B/B3 using a double‐labeling technique. The 17‐1A antigen was homogeneously expressed in 47 (78.3%) out of 60 primary NSCLCs. The expression of 17‐1A was independent from the tumor histology, the grade of differentiation, and other clinicopathological parameters (ploidy status, TNM‐stage). Lymph node metastases were positive in 4 (57.4%) out of 7 cases. The double‐labeling experiments demonstrated that 17‐1A is coexpressed on disseminated tumor cells in the bone marrow in 5 (83%) out of 6 patients. The 17‐1A antigen is expressed on the majority of primary, metastatic, and disseminated NSCLC cells. Patients with 17‐1A‐positive tumors might benefit from an adjuvant therapy with MAb 17‐1A after completely resected NSCLC. Int. J. Cancer 87:548–552, 2000.

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