Breast cancer patient's cell-mediated immune response to Thomsen-Friedenreich (T) antigen.

Thomsen-Friedenreich (T) antigenic specificity as determined with human serum anti-T was found in reactive form in breast adenocarcinomata but not in healthy and generally not in benign breast tissues. T-antigenic specificity was demonstrable in all metastatic breast carcinoma lesions. T specificity was also present in adeno- and squamous cell carcinomata from other organs; it was not found in the four melanomata, one glioblastoma, and seven benign non-breast tumors. Breast carcinoma patients but not healthy people showed cellular immunity to T antigen in vivo and in vitro. Most striking was the delayed-type cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction that was positive in over 85% of the ductal breast carcinoma patients tested, negative in over 94% benign breast disease patients, and in all presumably healthy individuals investigated. T antigen is readily available from healthy red blood cells in uncontaminated form, and free of HL-A and Australia antigens.