Abstract: |
The use of serologic probes in the analysis of cancer antigens and their contribution to the long-disputed issues of cancer-specific antigens and host defenses against cancer are discussed. Several powerful new techniques have been introduced during the past 20 to 30 years, among them hybridoma technology, human B-cell transformation by Epstein-Barr virus, and the cloning of immunoglobulin genes from individual B cells to provide direct access to cataloguing the B-cell repertoire, all of which have allowed serologic analysis to remain one of the most powerful ways to probe structural changes associated with malignant transformation. |