[Antigenic structure of normal and malignant breast tissue]

The study was concerned with 13 antigens identified with the aid of a set of immune sera obtained from rabbits immunized with a nuclear, a membrane and a soluble fractions of normal and malignant mammary tissues as well as with the membranes of fat globules of breast milk. The antigens (1 nuclear, 4 soluble and 8 membraneous) were of different specificity: four--occurring in many organs, two--specific for milk only, three--organ-specific antigens which, however, persist in malignant tissues, and one--present in malignant tissue and absent from normal mammary and 25 other tissues tested. Such antigens as lactoferrin and alpha-lactalbumin were identified by immuno-enzymatic methods in the sera of a third of patients with tumors of different localizations.