Frequency and mechanism of Lewis antigen expression in human urinary bladder and colon carcinoma patients

Abstract

Changes in the expression of Lewis antigens have been associated with cancer diseases, and recent results have pointed at a possible increased risk of cancer development among Lewis negative patients. The frequency of the erythrocyte Lewis phenotypes Le(a- b+), Le(a+ b-) and Le(a- b-) was analysed in patients suffering from urinary bladder cancer (82), colon cancer (21), and benign urological diseases (45). An increased frequency of Lewis negative individuals was found among colon cancer patients (P less than 0.004) and bladder cancer patients (P = 0.05). The Lewis negative phenotype was shown to be associated with unfavourable disease parameters: invasion (P less than 0.02) and high grade of atypia (P less than 0.01) in bladder cancer patients, and high Dukes stage (P less than 0.05) in colon cancer patients. alpha 1-4fucosyltransferase activity (Lewis transferase) was shown to be present in saliva from four out of eight erythrocyte Lewis negative cancer patients, indicating that some patients with advanced cancer disease may have converted from a Lewis positive to a Lewis negative phenotype.

The expression of ABH and Lewis antigens in Brazilian semi-isolated Black communities

“…However, in accordance with previous publications (Hammer et al, 1981;Hirano et al, 1987;Langkilde et al, 1991;Makni et al, 1987;∅rntoft et al, 1991;Stingendal et al, 1984;Yazawa et al, 1988), we believe that the high frequency of the Lewis (a-b-) red cell phenotype in the Alcântara population is probably a consequence of the change from Lewis-positive to Lewis-negative, predisposed to the nongenuine Lewis-negative phenotype, due to decreased concentration of circulating Lewis antigens occurring during diseases caused by parasites, infections, or other pathologic conditions. This change may also have been produced by intrapopulational microdifferentiation of the population structure, caused by stochastic factors, particularly genetic drift, which is frequently observed in small and relatively isolated populations.…”

“…Such individuals have been classified as nongenuine Lewisnegative, since they present α(1-4) fucosyltransferase activity and Lewis antigens in saliva (Langkilde et al, 1991;∅rntoft et al, 1991).…”

“…A number of studies (Hammer et al, 1981;Hirano et al, 1987;Langkilde et al, 1991;Makni et al, 1987;∅rntoft et al, 1991;Stingendal et al, 1984;Yazawa et al, 1988) have shown differences in the phenotypic expression of the Lewis antigens. Individuals with a Le(a-b-) phenotype, presenting no Lewis antigen expression in their erythrocytes, showed Lewis activity in their secretions.…”

Influence of Lewis α1-3/4-L-Fucosyltransferase (FUT3) Gene Mutations on Enzyme Activity, Erythrocyte Phenotyping, and Circulating Tumor Marker Sialyl-Lewis a Levels

“…They have been named non-genuine Lewis-negative individuals as they have ␣1-4FucT activity in saliva (24). Due to this phenomenon, the Lewis-negative phenotype is more common among cancer patients (approximatley 20%) than among healthy individuals (approximately 8%).…”

Falta de associação entre o sistema Lewis e obstrução coronariana

“…[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Desde que foram observados resultados discrepantes entre os genótipos e o fenótipo eritrocitário Le(a-b-), 17,26 tornou-se consenso que esse sistema de grupos sangüíneos deve ser determinado simultaneamente por métodos sorológicos e moleculares. 27 Considerando que a DAC é uma das principais causas de morte que acomete o homem em idade relativamente jovem no Brasil, e que um dos fatores que contribui para sua gênese é a obstrução coronariana, o objetivo desse trabalho foi verificar a freqüência do fenótipo eritrocitário Le(a-b-) em pacientes submetidos a cineangiocoronariografia e observar se esse marcador representa um fator de risco para a obstrução coronariana.…”