Characterization of tumor antigen in epidermoid carcinoma.

Tumor antigens have been isolated from nine epidermoid carcinomas of the head and neck. The most strongly reactive antigens have a molecular weight of congruent to 25,000-50,000 daltons, though other antigens weighing congruent to 120,000-400,000 daltons were noted in six of the tumors. The most strongly reactive antigens had a pI between 8.36 and 8.40. The cross reactivity of these antigens will be studied next. It is hoped that the purified tumor antigen will be useful in the development of an immunodetection system for epidermoid carcinoma.