Soluble membrane antigens of brain tumors. I. Controlled testing for cell-mediated immune responses in a long surviving glioblastoma multiforme patient.

A patient with glioblastoma multiforme survived 18 years after diagnosis and underwent 20 operations for extracranial metastasis. An immunologic survey of the patient was made over a 1-year-period using in vitro tests of lymphocyte responsiveness and skin tests with control and tumor antigens isolated from autologous and allogenic brain cell membranes. Two tissue-associated soluble cell membrane antigens also present in normal white matter, and two tumor-associated antigens (TAA) produce cell-mediated immune responses in patients with brain tumors. One of these tumor-associated antigens predominates in meningioma cells. In addition some low molecular weight components appeared, which seemed to be unique for the glioblastoma cells from the long-surviving patient.