| abstract |
The present invention relates to an antigen found on the surface of rat and human pancreatic cancer cells, and provides antibodies having high specificity and selectivity for the antigen, and hybridomas secreting the subject antibody. Further provided are methods for the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer. A surface membrane protein of about 43.5 kD named PaCa-Agl, which is a tissue marker for pancreatic malignant nematoma, is not expressed at all in the normal pancreas, but is abundantly expressed in pancreatic carcinoma cells. In addition, there is a soluble form of PaCa-Agl having a molecular weight of about 36 to about 38 kDa that is easily identified in the serum and other body fluids of pancreatic cancer patients using the subject antibodies. |