Abstract
The sera of 80 newly diagnosed lung-cancer patients have been examined for immune complexes and autoantibodies. Control subjects consisted of 20 bronchitic patients and 150 normal blood donors. Immune-complex measurements used 4 established and sensitive techniques (Raji cell assay, fluid and solid-phase C1q assays and conglutinin-binding assay) and a 5th newly devised technique based on the binding of polyethylene-glycol-precipitated immune-complex-rich serum fractions to Staphylococcus aureus. Using the Raji cell assay and the S. aureus binding assay to measure immune complexes, both newly diagnosed lung cancer patients and bronchitic patients had significantly higher prevalences of immune complexes than normal controls, but the two groups of patients did not differ significantly in either prevalence or quantity of immune complexes. When techniques which depend solely upon complement fixation (C1q assays and conglutinin binding) were used, only meagre quantities of immune complexes were found, and in at most 15% of newly diagnosed lung-cancer patients. The presence of autoantibodies in newly diagnosed cancer patients and controls appeared to correlate with the increase in the detectable prevalence of immune complexes.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guy, K., Di Mario, U., Irvine, W. et al. Circulating immune complexes and autoantibodies in lung cancer. Br J Cancer 43, 276–283 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1981.45
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1981.45