B72.3 is a monoclonal antibody directed against a high molecular weight glycoprotein known as tumour-associated glycoprotein-72 (TAG-72). The antigen is expressed in a limited range of benign tissue but a wide range of adenocarcinomas.
The antigen is usually expressed by adenocarcinomas, but is usually negative in mesotheliomas.
|
adenocarcinoma |
mesothelioma |
Lafebvre 19851 |
17/20 (pulmonary adenocarcinomas) |
2/10 |
Szpak 19862 |
21/22 (pulmonary adenocarcinomas: 19 cases showed staining of 10% or more of tumour cells) |
9/19 (Eight cases showed staining of 1% of cells and one case showed staining of 5% of cells.) |
Warnock 19889 |
43/43 (pulmonary adenocarcinomas) |
3/38 |
Ordonez 19893 |
19/23 (pulmonary adenocarcinomas) |
1/19 |
Tickman 199010 (study on cell blocks from serous fluid) |
45/69 (23 mammary, 16 ovarian, 10 pulmonary, 7 gastrointestinal and 13 others) |
0/2 |
Wick 199011 |
43/52 (peripheral pulmonary adenocarcinomas with pleural invasion) |
0/51 (all epithelioid mesotheliomas) |
Wick4 |
38/43 (19/23 peripheral pulmonary adenocarcinomas involving pleura, 10/10 serous surface papillary adenocarcinomas of peritoneum, 9/10 breast carcinomas metastatic to pleura. staining was predominantly membranous) |
0/41 (0/21 malignant epithelioid pleural mesotheliomas, 0/20 malignant epithelioid peritoneal mesotheliomas ) |
McCaughey 199112 |
not studied |
0/13 |
Nance 199113 (study on cell blocks from serous fluid) |
15/26 (adenocarcinomas of various sites) |
0/1 |
Wirth 199114 |
15/20 (pulmonary adenocarcinomas) |
24/50 |
Gaffey 199215 |
not studied |
1/49 (1/32 epithelioid and 0/17 biphasic) |
Brown 199316 |
93/103 (pulmonary adenocarcinomas) |
0/34 (all epithelioid mesotheliomas) |
Moch 199317 |
22/24 (pulmonary adenocarcinomas) |
9/27 (all histological types) |
Dejmek 199418 |
15/20 (adenocarcinomas of various sites, metastatic to pleura) |
13/55 |
Bailey 199619 (study on cell blocks from serous fluid) |
10/11 (adenocarcinomas of various sites) |
0/5 |
Delahaya 199720 (study on cell blocks from serous fluid) |
68/88 (adenocarcinomas of various sites) |
1/41 |
Riera 199721 |
170/211 (adenocarcinomas of various sites: 143 cases showed strong, 19 moderate and 8 weak staining. In 41 cases there was staining of >50% of cells, in 65 cases staining of 26-50% of cells and in 64 cases staining of 10-25% of cells. Staining of <10% of cells was considered as negative. Staining was generally intense but focal. A finely granular cytoplasmic staining with apical intensification was typical. Omission of heat-induced antigen retrieval decreased the number of positive adenocarcinomas without significantly increasing specificity ) |
2/57 (all epithelioid mesotheliomas: both positive cases showed strong staining, in one case of >50% of cells, in one case of 10-25% of cells)
|
Wilson 199722 |
8/9 (pulmonary and ovarian carcinomas) |
1/21 |
Ordonez 199723 |
89/110 (pulmonary adenocarcinomas: in approximately half the cases, the staining was of >50% of the cells. The pattern of staining was coarse and granular throughout the cytoplasm, with apical accentuation.) |
3/175 (in the three cases, staining was of <5% of the tumour cells) |
Ordonez 199824 |
39/45 (30 ovarian [10 primary and 20 metastatic to the peritoneum] and 15 papillary serous carcinomas of the peritoneum) |
0/35 (all epithelioid peritoneal mesotheliomas) |
Leers19988 |
17/21 (14 cases showing staining of >10% of cells, 3 cases showed staining of <10% of cells.) |
0/20 |
Garcia-Prats 19987 |
10/18 (adenocarcinomas metastatic to pleura, 10/15 pulmonary and 0/3 extra-pulmonary primaries) |
0/40 (26 epithelioid, 10 sarcomatoid, 4 biphasic) |
Gonzalez-Lois 20015 |
9/12 (metastatic to pleura from various sites) |
4/44 (3/28 epithelioid, 0/5 sarcomatoid, 0/1 mixed and 1/1 lymphohistiocytoid mesotheliomas: I kno wit does not add up!) |
Comin 20016 |
8/23 (Staining was of up to 50% of cells.) |
6/42 (Staining was of up to 50% of cells.) |
Ordonez 200325 |
42/50 (all primary lung adenocarcinomas: 8 case >75% of cells stained, 15 cases 50-75% of cells, 12 cases 25-50% of cells and 7 cases 1-25% of cells. Staining was course and granular throughout the cytoplasm.) |
0/60 (all epithelioid mesotheliomas)
|
Overall |
81% (856/1063) |
8% (79/949) |
A systematic review of sixteen studies (consisting of 769 pulmonary adenocarcinomas and 700 epithelioid mesotheliomas) reported sensitivities and specificities of B72.3 for pulmonary adenocarcinoma of 80% and 93%26.
References
1 Lafebvre MP, Rodriquez F, Schlom J et al. The application of a monoclonal antiboy in the differentiation of benign and malignant mesothelial proliferaitons from adenocarcinomas. Lab Invest 1985;52:38A (abstract)
22 Wilson JD, Merino MJ, Harris C et al. Mesothelioma vs adenocarcinoma: does immunohistochemistry help? Lab Invest 1997;76:174A.
This page last revised 16.2.2006.
©SMUHT/PW Bishop