Résumé
In an attempt to develop measures for early diagnosis and prognosis of the disease and to explore association of murine mammary tumour virus (MuMTV) or related virus in breast cancer, we purified a breast tumour associated antigen (BTAA) from the breast tumour tissues of untreated female cancer patients. The BTAA purified by DEAE discontinuous column chromatography followed by SE-HPLC was an 85 kDa glycoprotein. A high level of circulating antibodies against this antigen was observed, using ELISA, in all the untreated female breast cancer patients. The BTAA was not immunologically related to MuMTV antigens but strongly resembled an 83 kDa glycoprotein tumour associated antigen, purified from MuMTV induced mouse mammary tumour. In patients after surgical removal of the breast tumour, the circulating antibodies to the BTAA decreased gradually, but reappeared in the patients with secondary metastasis. In healthy age matched women or in female patients with carcinoma of tissues other than breast, no significant titre of the BTAA antibodies was observed.