Abstract
HMFGI tumour associated monoclonal antibody IgGl and F(ab')2 fragments were radiolabelled with indium-111 and used to study patients with breast cancer. In vitro and in vivo stability of the radiolabelled antibodies was shown to be satisfactory. Thirty patients with primary breast cancer underwent tumour resection and quantitative evaluation of the radioactivity in the tumour and normal tissues following administration of specific and non-specific antibodies. The mean tumour uptake of HMFG1 F(ab')2 fragments at 24h was significantly higher (P<0.05) than the intact IgG but at 48h there was no difference. The mean tumour uptake with the specific antibody was higher than the non-specific antibody of the same subclass (P<0.05). Lymph node metastases showed higher antibody uptake than the corresponding primary tumours (P<0.05). Fifteen patients with primary or metastatic breast cancer were investigated by external body scintigraphy using HMFG1 F(ab')2 fragments. Successful localisation was observed in approximately 50% of the primary and metastatic lesions with no false positive results. All the patients had observable concentration of111In in the liver (20% of the injected dose), the kidneys and the spleen. Following i.v. administration, F(ab')2 fragments cleared from the blood more rapidly than the intact IgG. We conclude that HMFG1 F(ab')2 fragments can localise specifically and faster than intact IgG in breast cancer but the sensitivity of the radioimmunoscintigraphy is relatively low. This method needs further improvement before becoming clinically useful for detecting and staging breast cancer.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 939-942 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | British Journal of Cancer |
Volume | 59 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 1989 |
Externally published | Yes |