Evidence of sensibilization against tumor/associated antigen (TAA) in patients with metastasizing mammary carcinoma after ablatio mammae following upper and lower half-body irradiation

In 20 patients operated on lymphogenically metastasizing breast cancer and exposed to upper and lower half-body irradiation various immunological parameters were studied. The inclusion of such immunological tests by which the sensibilization against TAA could be evidenced, should contribute to an early diagnosis of new tumor growth in the preclinical state. Both cell-mediated and humoral immune reactions were demonstrated by the TAA-specific rosette test. The TAA is bound to synthetic particular carriers with the antigen binding to the lymphocyte surface made visible by rosette formation. Patients with manifest breast cancers revealed significantly higher rosette numbers than healthy blood donors. Increased rosette numbers were found in all patients 3-7 months after upper and lower half-body irradiation