Detection of the growth fraction in colorectal tumours by a monoclonal antibody against DNA polymerase alpha.

The cell kinetics of 54 colorectal tumours were examined by immunohistochemical methods, using the monoclonal antibody DNA polymerase alpha which reacts with an antigen found only in proliferating cells. The rate of DNA polymerase alpha positive cells in colorectal cancer was 44.8%, a figure that was significantly higher than the 21.9% found in colorectal adenomas. The rate of DNA polymerase alpha positive cells tended to rise as the degree of differentiation decreased according to the standard histological grading criteria for colorectal cancer. Positive cells were detected in much greater numbers in tumours with liver metastasis (55.4%) than in those without metastasis (41.7%). The rate of DNA polymerase alpha positive cells for aneuploid lesions was higher than that for lesions with a diploid pattern. The determination of growth fractions with a monoclonal antibody (DNA polymerase alpha) may be a biological marker of great prognostic significance.