Tumor Associated Antigens and Oncogene Products Defined by Monoclonal Antibodies

The advent of hybridoma/monoclonal antibody technology in 1975 (1) and gene, cloning procedures have drastically influenced both the understanding and practice of pathology. Using these methodologies and reagents, applications have been developed in the research laboratory, distributed to the clinical setting, and now often impact on the diagnosis and management of human disease. It is the authors’ intent to focus this chapter on some recently developed monoclonal antibody applications in human pathology using immunohistochemical techniques. The text will be roughly divided into three parts: background information and general principles, practical applications, and monoclonal antibodies as probes to investigate tumor biology and oncogene expression.