Immunological reactivity of glycoprotein antigens from human lung cancers

Glycoprotein antigens were extracted with perchloric acid (PCA) from the 14 individual lung anaplastic cancers and 4 lung adenocarcinomas and their antigenic activity was compared with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) isolated from liver metastases of colon cancer. The studies were performed by double immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis and radioimmunoassay, using the specific immune sera against PCA-extracted glycoproteins of lung anaplastic cancer (anti-80 PCA-CaLu), and also anti-CEA, anti-AFP, and anti-alpha 1-acid glycoprotein sera. The existence of at least three groups of antigens in lung cancers was demonstrated, i. e. CEA-like antigen, group antigen characteristic for most of the lung anaplastic cancers and lung adenocarcinomas non-related to CEA and antigen(s) detectable only in some of anaplastic cancers. Moreover antigen of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein reactivity was detected in all lung cancers studied.