Medical News

Tumor-specific antibody used in patient with Hodgkin disease  The idea of producing and using specific antibody against tumor antigens to thwart the growth of a patient's tumor has been the dream of cancer therapists for years. Yet progress has been slow due to technical difficulties and ignorance of the complexities of the immunological system.Now, however, a large group of Harvard investigators, led by Stanley Order, MD, associate professor of radiation therapy, has accomplished a feat—after four years of work—that may point the way.For the first time, radiolabeled antibody against a specific tumor-associated antigen (of Hodgkin disease) has been given to a patient and has targeted specifically on the tumor masses, remaining there for at least eight days. The work was reported in part at the meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiologists, Key Biscayne, Fla.The antigen used was the so-called F (fastmigrating) antigen that Dr.