Ex vivo perfusion of a tumor-containing colon with monoclonal antibody

We describe a model for the evaluation of anti-tumor antibody specificity using a colonic adenocarcinoma-containing specimen, freshly resected from a patient. The colonic segment was perfused for 1 hr through the mesenteric vessels with a perfusate solution containing an ACRC antibody known to bind specifically to cells of human colorectal carcinoma. Differential binding of a monoclonal ACRC antibody to cells of the adenocarcinoma and not to those of normal colonic mucosa was observed in three patients, whereas in two patients such differences in preferential binding were not observed. No antibody binding to any tissues was observed in the sixth patient. These results warrant further trial of in vivo evaluation of the specificity of ACRC antibody for diagnosis and therapy of human malignancy.