Antimacrophage monoclonal antibody D11 in the diagnosis of tumors of histiocytic origin.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the possible application of the human antimacrophagal antibody D11 (MAb D11) to the diagnosis of tumors of histiocytic origin.

STUDY DESIGN

Biopsy and surgical materials from 181 patients with nonepithelial tumors and tumorlike lesions were used in the study. The reactivity of MAb D11 with tumor cells was assayed as the percentage of positively reacted cells in cryostat sections and on smears of tissues determined by the immunoperoxidase method.

RESULTS

According to the reaction, all tumors could be divided into three groups: group 1, 39 cases, including all malignant fibrous histiocytomas (MFH) (24 cases); all tumors were D11 antigen positive; group 2, 130 cases, tumors with the same nosologic forms revealed positive, as well as negative, reactions with MAb D11; and group 3, 12 cases, all tumors exhibited a negative reaction with MAb D11.

CONCLUSION

Although MAb D11 gave a positive reaction with all tumors in the histiocyte series, its reactivity with some tumors of other histogeneses limits the application of MAb D11 for differential diagnosis of MFH. Nevertheless, MAb D11 may be used for the exclusion of tumors from the MFH group in the case of a negative reaction. The results support the view that MFH is derived from cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system.