The detection by immunodiffusion of tumour associated antigenic components in extracts of human bronchongenic carcinoma.

Antisera to extracts of a variety of bronchogenic carcinoma were raised in rabbits and extensively absorbed with immunoadsorbents prepared with normal lung extracts cyanogen bromide linked to Sepharose 4B, and glutaraldehyde insolubilized normal lung extracts. The antisera were tested by immunodiffusion against a panel of extracts from a variety of bronchogenic carcinoma, foetal lung extracts and pools of normal lung extracts. The results indicate that two distinct antigenic components are associated with bronchogenic carcinoma; one which is present in a high percentage of the tumour extracts tested and appears to have partial identity with a foetal lung component, and one (or more) which is not foetal and appears to have higher cross-reactivity (but not exclusively) with tumours of the same pathological type. Attempts to detect either antibody or antigens relating to these components in the serum of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma by these techniques were unsuccessful. The foetal cross-reacting component was neither carcinoembryonic antigen and alpha1-foetoprotein.