Immunophenotypic differences between normal glia, astrocytomas and malignant gliomas: correlations with karyotype, natural history and survival.

The karyotypic and antigenic phenotypes of early passage normal and malignant glial cultures were correlated in vitro. Astrocytomas (4) were distinguished from the normal glia (8) by a mixed near-diploid karyotype and anchorage-independent growth. Malignant gliomas (41) demonstrated cytogenetic abnormalities ranging from mixed normal G- and Q-banded and near-diploid cultures, through mixed near-diploid/hyperdiploid to predominantly hyperdiploid stem-lines. This correlated with the differential expression of certain antigens and established qualitative antigenic differences from normal glia. Associations were found between histopathologic grade of glial neoplasm and the expression of antigens 5.1H11 (p = 0.0002), CNT/11 (p = 0.001), CNT/10 (p = 0.004), CAT301 (p = 0.014), M111 (p = 0.024), and L101 (p = 0.044). An ominous association was demonstrated between the duration of clinical survival and the expression of antigens 5.1H11 (p = 0.0007), CNT/10 (p = 0.027) and B2.6 (p = 0.038). Correcting for diagnosis and age, multivariate analysis demonstrated that HLA-DR (p = 0.050) and 5.1H11 (p = 0.069) were unfavorably correlated with patient survival. This suggests the application of the in vitro immunophenotype for its predictive utility, as well as a novel method of selection of tumor-associated antigens for monoclonal antibody-mediated immunotherapy.