Abstract
Eighteen cancer patients showed high levels of CA19-9 in sera, even though the blood-group phenotypes of their red blood cells were Le(a-b-). Seven of these patients (group I) were determined as Le(a-b-) from both red blood cells and saliva consistently, whereas eleven other patients (group II) secreted either Le(a) or Le(b) antigen in saliva and showed the expression of incompatible Lewis blood-group antigens. GDP-fucose: N-acetyl-glucosaminide alpha(1----4)-L-fucosyltransferase was demonstrated to be present in salivas from both group I and group II. These results suggest that a cancer-associated alteration of Lewis blood-group antigen expression occurs in cancer patients.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Antigens, Neoplasm / analysis*
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Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate
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Blood Grouping and Crossmatching
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Enzyme Precursors / blood
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Female
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Fucosyltransferases / blood
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Guanosine Diphosphate Fucose
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Humans
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Lewis Blood Group Antigens*
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Male
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Neoplasms / blood*
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Neoplasms / enzymology
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Neoplasms / immunology
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Phenotype
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Saliva / enzymology
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Saliva / immunology*
Substances
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Antigens, Neoplasm
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Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate
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Enzyme Precursors
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Lewis Blood Group Antigens
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Guanosine Diphosphate Fucose
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Fucosyltransferases
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3-galactosyl-N-acetylglucosaminide 4-alpha-L-fucosyltransferase