Autoantibodies against cardiolipin in the serum of patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma: their prognostic significance.

Using an ELISA method, the sera of 43 patients with colon adenocarcinoma (CA) and of 26 surgical patients with nonmalignant disease of the gastrointestinal tract were studied for the presence of autoantibodies against cardiolipin (CLP) before and 1 month after surgery. Forty healthy volunteers were used as controls. Fourteen CA patients were found to be positive for anti-CLP autoantibodies before surgical treatment, and 15 patients were found to be positive 1 month after surgery.

Thyroid autoantibodies and thyroid function in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PA) patients often present high serum titres of several autoantibodies including autoantibodies against beta-islet cells and insulin. In the present study we examined with an hemagglutination method the sera of 33 patients with PA for the presence of both anti-mitochondrial and anti-thyroglobulin antithyroid autoantibodies (ATA). Twenty-six surgical patients with other non-malignant gastrointestinal tract (GI) disease (chronic pancreatitis or hernia) and 40 healthy volunteers were used as controls.