[Immunohistochemical study of cancer-associated carbohydrate antigens in carcinoma of the biliary tract].

To reveal the cell-biological character of biliary tract cancer, localization and distribution of three cancer-associated carbohydrate antigens (CA19-9, sialyl SSEA-1, NCC-ST-439) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were studied immunohistochemically in 35 cases of gallbladder carcinoma, 21 of bile duct carcinoma, 16 of chronic cholecystitis, and 3 of normal gallbladder. 1) All carbohydrate antigens and CEA were present in 70-90% of the cases of gallbladder and bile duct carcinoma. In particular, NCC-ST-439 had the highest incidence of positive staining (95.2%) in bile duct carcinoma. 2) The mode of localization was diverse and was not fixed by the kind of antigen. Antigens flowing out to the surrounding stroma were affected by the rate of positive cells. 3) No significant correlation was observed between the histological type or degree of differentiation and tissue positivity. 4) The positivity of tissue CEA was higher in the cases with serous membrane invasion, gamma INF pattern, and neuro-, vascular-, and lymphatic invasion. 5) In chronic cholecystitis, CA19-9, NCC-ST-439, and CEA were stained in mucosal cells and/or metaplastic cells, while sialyl SSEA-1 was stained only in one case in the goblet cells and the cells with pseudopyloric metaplasia. None of the antigens were stained in normal gallbladders. These results suggest that these antigens may be useful in the diagnosis and therapeutic treatments in patients with biliary tract cancer.