Abstract
It has been observed that the frequency of individuals with Lewisnegative erythrocytes is significantly higher in cancer patients than in healthy controls. In this study, 20 of the 66 (30.3%) patients with various cancers were typed as Lewis negative from their erythrocytes, while the same frequency in healthy controls was 11.1%. These 20 patients were divided into three groups based on the presence of Lewis blood group antigens and α1→4-fucosyltransferase in their salivas: group I, 6 patients who had both Lewis antigens and α1→4-fucosyltransferase activity; group II, 8 patients who had no Lewis antigens but possessed α1→4-fucosyltransferase activity; group III, 6 patients who had neither Lewis antigens nor α1→4-fucosyltransferase activity.
The genotyping of Le genes by the PCR-RFLP methods, which have been developed and established by us recently, demonstrated that all 14 patients from groups I and II possess Le gene homozygously (Le/Le) or heterozygously (Le/le), whereas all 6 patients from group III were le/le homozygotes. Only the 6 patients from group III were identified as the genuine Lewis-negative individuals. The immunohistochemical staining of the colorectal tumors also showed that the Lewis antigens could be detected on the tumors from groups I and II but not from group III.
Supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 01010001) from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture, Japan, and by a grant from Otsuka Parmaceutical Company, Japan.