[Immunoscintigraphy of colorectal cancers and specific immunotherapy of pancreatic cancers using monoclonal antibodies].

The routine application of immunoscintigraphy for the detection of colorectal carcinomas is now possible thanks to the development of the BW 431/31-F(ab')2-DTPA-In-111 or the BW 431/26-Tc-99m kits. The quick tumor localization (6 hours p.i.), the specificity and sensitivity (approximately equal to 90%) as well as the lack of side reactions argue for the quality of the reagents. The change from I-131 labelled murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to In-111 or Tc-99m immunoconjugates in kit form resulted in a reduction of radiation dose for the patient down to 20% (In-111) or to 5% (Tc-99m) of the dose applied using I-131 labelled MAbs. The BW 250/183-Tc-99m conjugate suited for the immunoscintigraphic detection of inflammatory processes by in vivo labelling of granulocytes possesses the same favourable characteristics. The specific tumor immunotherapy of pancreatic carcinoma using MAb BW 494 points to interesting effects which have to be statistically confirmed in future clinical trials.