[Antigen phenotype of lung cancer and its relation to chemo-radiosensitivity]

Phenotypic heterogeneity in lung cancer was investigated immunochemically, using monoclonal antibody NE150, PE35 and OE130. The presence of NE150 neuroendocrine and PE35 panepithelial antigens and the absence of another epithelial antigen, OE130, i. e., NE150+/PE35+/OE130- is the typical phenotype of small cell lung cancer, while NE150-/PE35+/OE130+ is that of non-small cell lung cancer. The results obtained from the cell lines with no prior therapy indicated a good correlation between the antigen phenotype and chemo-radiosensitivity, suggesting that antigen phenotype may reflect some intrinsic resistance which could be related to differentiations in the status of the lung cancer.