Abstract
AIM: To investigate the affinity of AFP-R-LCA monoclonal antibody (AFP-R-LCA McAb) for AFP-positive primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. METHODS: AFP-R-LCA McAb was labeled by (131)I. Eleven cases of HCC with AFP positivity, 6 with AFP negativity, and 4 with hepatitis B-related cirrhosis were investigated by radioimmunodetection. RESULTS: The (131)I-AFP-R-LCA McAb immunoreacted with 9 of the HCC AFP-positive cases (9/11), but with none of the 6 AFP negative HCC cases or of the 4 cirrhosis patients. (131)I-AFP-R-LCA McAb at a small dose (7.4 × 10(7) Bq/300 μg) was associated with no side effects as determined by the liver function test, prothrombin time (Pt) test and thyroid gland function test (P > 0.05). Two cases of AFP-positive HCC were not imaged because of large tumor size (diameter > 10 cm) and higher AFP concentration in serum (20000 μg/L). CONCLUSION: AFP-R-LCA McAb has a strong and special affinity to AFP-positive HCC cells and may be useful as a carrier for radioimmunodetection and radioimmunotherapy.