New marker for mesothelioma: an immunoperoxidase study.

An antibody was raised against a protein isolated from the cytoplasm of mesothelioma cells. It was subsequently used in an immunoperoxidase procedure on formalin fixed, paraffin embedded tissue sections. A representative sample of benign and malignant tumours from all the systems of the human body was examined. All the tumours derived from coelomic surfaces (mesotheliomas of pleura, peritoneum, and ovary, and adenomatoid tumour of epididymis) reacted with the antibody. No other tumour tested in this study expressed the protein. These findings indicate that the antibody may be useful in the identification of mesothelioma cells in both histological and cytological diagnostic routine practice when morphological interpretation is in doubt.