Heterophile antibodies, immunoglobulin levels, and the evaluation on anti-T activity in cancer patients and controls.

In a study of human agglutinin response to multideterminant ABH-like antigens, such as sheep red blood cells (SRBC), a significant correlation was found between the presence of high antibody levels to such red cells (titres of 1:20 and higher) and total serum concentrations of IgM and IgA.. Individuals with lower levels of SRBC agglutinins (titres of 1:10 and lower) generally have reduced concentrations of these two classes of immunoglobulin. High or low levels of antibody to SRBC did not correlate with the development of several kinds of malignant tumour (cervix uteri, breast and oesophagus). It was found, however, that procedures of high levels of agglutinins for SRBC, whether cancer patients or normal subjects, also more often produce higher levels of antibodies to the cryptantigenic T (Thomsen-Friedenreich)-antigen structure of human red cells. The only significant difference is that cancer patients have persistently depressed levels of anti-T. This provides further evidence that malignant tissue may have exposed T-Antigen structures on their membranes.