Abstract
BACKGROUND: Neoplastic transformation is associated frequently with changes in the glycosylation process. Simple mucin-type glycosylation in cancer cells has been found to be characterized by incomplete synthesis with precursor accumulation, leading to the exposure of the structures Tn and sialosyl-Tn, which are normally cryptic in human cells and secretions, including saliva and salivary glands.
METHODS: Paraffin sections from 50 salivary gland carcinomas of different histologic types were investigated with immunohistologic studies and a panel of monoclonal antibodies with well-defined specificity for Tn and sialosyl-Tn.
RESULTS: Tn and sialosyl-Tn antigens were expressed in the cytoplasm of glandular differentiated cells; in the luminal membranes and mucinous content of the glandular differentiated areas in almost all mucoepidermoid carcinomas and adenocarcinomas; and in carcinoma in pleomorphic adenoma, when the malignant component was an adenocarcinoma. In contrast, acinic cell carcinomas and adenoid cystic carcinomas expressed only minimal amounts of Tn and sialosyl-Tn, and the staining was seen only in relation to the luminal membrane and mucin of a few glandular structures.
CONCLUSIONS: Mucin-type Tn and sialosyl-Tn may be regarded as markers of a glandular differentiation pattern in salivary gland carcinomas. The cellular location of the antigen-antibody complex indicates that they are synthesized and secreted from the tumor cells into saliva or serum.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Cancer |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1147-54 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISSN | 0008-543X |
| Publication status | Published - 15 Aug 1993 |
Keywords
- Adenocarcinoma
- Antibodies, Monoclonal
- Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate
- Carcinoma
- Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic
- Humans
- Mucins
- Salivary Gland Neoplasms
