Transitional cell cancer: fluorescent antibody binding to tumor cells in vitro.

The IFA assay has been used to detect antigen--antibody reactions between sera from patients with TCC and TCC cell lines established in our laboratory. A positive immunofluorescence reaction, consisting of perinuclear staining, was seen in 86% of the sera from TCC patients exposed to 253J cells. A positive reaction was detection in only 8% of the sera from healthy donors, in 19% of that from patients with nonmalignant urinary tract disease, and in 31% of the sera from patients with urinary tract tumors other than TCC when exposed to 253J cells. No positive reaction was detected when these same sera were exposed to either WI-38 or normal human kidney cells. The positive fluorescence could be removed from TCC sera by absorption with TCC surgical specimens but not by absorption with nontumor surgical specimens.