Delayed-type skin hypersensitivity reaction (DTH) to Thomsen-Friedenreich (T) antigen as diagnostic test for human breast adenocarcinoma.

One intradermal (i.d.) injection of human erythrocyte T antigen in the upper outer arm contralateral to any breast lesion elicits a delayed tuberculin-type hypersensitivity reaction (DTH) in breast carcinoma patients. It is necessary to inject simultaneously but separately the same quantity of MN antigen (about 6--8 cm apart), from which the T Antigen has been prepared, since particularly patients with Stage I breast carcinoma (Internatl. nomenclature) and those with benign breast disease may significantly react to it. The extent of reaction to MN antigen must be subtracted from the reaction to T antigen before interpreting results. DTH response to T antigen was 85% accurate among 67 patients with ductal breast carcinoma of all Stages (including non-invasive), 95% accurate (5% so far falsely positive) among 95 patients with benign breast disease and it was 100% accurate (no false positives) among 36 "healthy" persons tested. Among 18 patients with the comparatively rare and less ominous lobular and tubular breast carcinomata, the DTH reaction was positive in 8 of 16 (50%) patients with lobular, and in none of 2 patients with tubular breast carcinoma.