The use of antisera to epithelial membrane antigen in detecting micrometastases in histological sections

We have investigated, by immunocytochemical means, the value of an antiserum raised to milk-fat-globule membranes in detecting metastatic deposits of breast carcinoma in conventional histological sections of liver, lymph nodes and marrow. The antiseum recognizes a membrane component, which we have called Epithelial Membrane Antigen, and which is confined to but widely distributed in epithelial tissues and tumours derived from them. In the sections examined, a greater extent of tumour infiltration was usually found, largely due to the identification of single malignant cells which normally go unrecognized with conventional stains. The number of positive samples was only increased, however, in sections of marrow aspirates, and the reasons for this are discussed. We suggest that further increases in detection rates could be attained by using the antiserum on cytological smears of marrow or even in cell suspensions.