Lectin histochemistry of uterine adenocarcinomas.

Lectin histochemistry was used to compare normal endometrial and endocervical epithelium with adenocarcinomas arising in these locations. Endometrial carcinomas were characterized by much more variable lectin binding than normal endometrial cells. Endocervical carcinomas essentially retained the phenotype of parental epithelium. Type I lectin from Griffonia simplicifolia was the only lectin consistently nonreactive with normal endocervix that reacted with all endocervical carcinomas. In both anatomic sites, malignant transformation was associated with a loss of binding sites for some lectins and an acquisition of binding sites for others.