[Cancerous and mesothelial cells in pleural exudates studied by enzymatic chemical methods and monoclonal antibodies]

Pleural cavity exudates obtained from 26 patients with cancer of the lung, ovary, stomach and breast and 13 cases of nononcological pathologies were studied using enzymatic cytochemical methods and monoclonal antibodies. A complex of tissue markers (carcinoembryonic antigen, 90 kdalton glycoproteid, activity of alkaline phosphatase and nonspecific alpha-naphthylacetate esterase, and PAS-positive bodies) was identified. It allows to differentiate between malignant and mesothelial cells in smears prepared from exudates.