Tumour-associated antigens in cervical cancer tissues and in the sera of Nigerian women with cervical cancer.

Soluble antigens and membrane-bound antigens were prepared from a pool of cervical cancer (CaCx) tissues. The soluble antigens were extracted by homogenization in Earle's balanced salt solution containing antibiotics, and the membrane-bound antigens were extracted by 3 M potassium chloride. For isolation of partially purified tumour-associated antigens (TAA), ammonium sulphate precipitation, ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration methods were employed. Hyperimmune rabbit sera prepared against partially purified CaCx tissue antigens, absorbed with pooled normal cervical (NCx) tissue antigen preparation and pooled normal human sera (NHuS), demonstrated three tumour-associated antigens (TAA-1, -2, and -3) in the soluble antigen preparations by the immunoprecipitin-in-gel reactions. Only one TAA (probably identical to TAA-3 of the soluble antigens) was obtained in the KCl extract. Similarly, the antisera detected circulating TAA (C-TAA) in the sera of twenty-seven of thirty-six (75%) patients with cervical cancer, one of eighteen (5.6%) women with benign gynaecological diseases, one of seventy-two (1.4%) pregnant women and none of thirty-six (0%) healthy controls. The test indicated high specificity, and the procedure shows great potential for immunodiagnosis of cervical cancer.