A study of expression of tumor-associated antigen of paracarci-nomatous mucosa and the nucleolar organizer regions in carcinoma of the colon

A study was performed on the nature of mucus of paracarcinomatous mucosa, expression of tumor-associated antigen and change in protein content of the nucleolar organizer regions in 1050 patients with carcinoma of the colon. The methods used in this study are those of histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and staining of the nucleolar organizer regions. The results show that in the borderline region between the epithelium of colonic adenocarcinoma and normal mucosa. a transitional mucosa with expression of a variety of tumor-associated antigens does exist. The amount of AgNOR lies between that of the cancerous tissue and the normal mucosa. It is concluded that paracarcinomatous epithelial cells with the expression of tumor-associated antigens similar to that of carcinoma of the colon should be considered as primary precancerous lesion.