Mucoid carcinomas of the breast: a study using mucin histochemistry and peanut lectin.

The mucin secreted by mucoid carcinomas of the breast has been studied in a series of 20 tumours by histochemical methods and peroxidase labelled peanut lectin. The histochemical techniques showed that the carcinomas could be divided into two groups depending on whether the mucin was composed predominantly of acid or neutral mucopolysaccharides. The specific binding of peanut lectin to beta-galactosyl groups, in combination with neuraminidase treatment, enabled further divisions to be made and so demonstrated the heterogenous nature of the mucin secreted by mucoid carcinomas and also the value of using lectins as specific probes in histological methods.