A comparative study was undertaken among mucoepidermoid carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, acinic cell carcinoma and normal salivary glands using lectin affinity histochemical method. It was found that the positive rate was highest in mucoepidermoid carcinoma (P less than 0.05); Among the 4 kinds of lectins used PNA and UEA had different distributions and contents in cancer and control groups (P less than 0.05). The mucoid substances in the cancer tissue were mixed mucin, similar to those in the normal salivary gland. However, there was more mixed mucin in the former than in the latter. This method is useful in diagnosis of salivary gland carcinoma. The relation of glucoprotein content on the cancer cell surface and carcinogenesis is discussed.
Carcinoma Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic