Diagnosis of gastric cancers with fluorescein‐labeled monoclonal antibodies to carcinoembryonic antigen

Abstract

Forty gastric adenocarcinomas in 30 resected stomachs were examined by an endoscopic immunofluorescent technique using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled antibodies to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Fluorescence images of the tumors were obtained with a newly developed endoscopic television system for detecting faint fluorescence. Computer-assisted processing was used to enhance the detection and localization of the tumors visualized by the immunofluorescent technique. Twenty seven (90%) of 30 tumors showed positive fluorescence after treatment with FITC-labeled antibodies for 60 minutes, whereas only two (40%) of five cancers could be detected by the immunofluorescent technique after treatment with antibodies for less than 60 minutes. There was no significant relationship between positive fluorescence and the gross and histological types or the stages of the tumors. In contrast, no positive fluorescence could be demonstrated in cases of benign gastric lesions or after pretreatment with FITC-labeled alpha-fetoprotein. This study therefore suggests that the immunofluorescent technique using FITC-labeled anti-CEA antibodies can be useful in detecting the early stages of gastric cancer.

Labeled Carcinoembryonic Antigen Antibodies Excitable by Infrared Rays. A Novel Diagnostic Method for Micro Cancers in the Digestive Tract.

“…Several attempts using labeled CEAantibodies have also been reported (2). Fluorescence that is specific to gastrointestinal lesions has been observed in studies using isolated specimens (4,5). However, the use of fluorescence of ultraviolet-range wavelength result in interference from strong background noise (7) and possible damage the living tissue (6).…”

“…In the field of gastroenterology (4,5), attempts have been made to check for lesions using carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) antibody labeled with fluorescent material. However, since the wavelength of fluorescence used in those studies was in the ultraviolet range, its use in vivo is limited due to safety concerns (6) and due to interference from some other sources of fluorescence (7).…”

Immunophotodiagnosis of colon carcinomas in patients injected with fluoresceinated chimeric antibodies against carcinoembryonic antigen.

“…Fluoresceinated anti-CEA antibodies have been sprayed directly on resected stomach tissue to detect carcinoma cells (20), but no study of in vivo tumor localization of i.v. injected fluoresceinated mAb was done.…”

Endoscopic Molecular Imaging in Gastrointestinal Oncology

“…In addition, there is little background noise in the living body (Shealy et al, 1995), especially in the digestive tract, which makes infrared fluorescence a likely candidate for development as a novel diagnostic system (Ganz, 2004;Okamoto et al, 2005). Several kinds of labeling agents for detecting carcinomas in the digestive tract have been reported (Tatsuta, 1989;Pelegrin, 1991;Ballou et al, 1998), some of which fluoresce in visible or ultraviolet rays. However, application of UV is not suitable because it damages living tissue (Davies, 1995).…”