Transferrin Receptors, HLA-A,B,C, and Amnion Antigens in Breast Adenocarcinoma

The expression of transferrin receptors, HLA-A,B,C and amnion antigens on breast biopsies from 63 patients were studied by immunofluorescence. The majority of the 36 specimens from normal breast or benign mastopathy did not express transferrin receptors, but were reactive with antibodies to HLA-A,B,C and amnion antigens. Among the specimens from patients with adenocarcinoma, 54.5% of the biopsies expressed transferrin receptors, 78.3% were non-reactive with monoclonal antibodies to common determinant of HLA-A,B,C and 63.6% failed to react with heterologous antiserum to amnion antigens. These data showed that the inverse expression of these antigens between normal and adenocarcinoma may be used as an adjunct for diagnosis of breast adenocarcinoma.