Immunogenetics of cell surface antigens of human cancer.

Hybridoma technology, immunohistochemistry and molecular genetic techniques have paved the way for a general serological mapping of molecules expressed on the surface of normal and neoplastic cells. The emerging findings challenge cell lineage-based models of differentiation and point to new, modular concepts to explain complex tumor phenotypes. In parallel studies, the repertoire of T-cell recognized tumor antigens--still mysterious but probably quite distinct from the antibody-defined repertoire--has also become accessible to molecular analysis.