CA-antibody: an immunological marker of thymic neoplasia in XXXX ?

@entity1 @entity704 @entity1792 @entity5 @entity1737 @entity8792 @entity2760
We have examined sera from 141 @entity1 with @entity1737 and 11 @entity1737 @entity1 with @entity704 for antibodies to a @entity1792 extract of skeletal muscle (CA-antibodies). Sera were obtained from 5 different centers. The thymus histology was defined in each case. Sera from 56/66 @entity1 (85%) with @entity704 contained CA-antibodies, while such antibodies were only detected in 6/75 (8%) of the non- @entity704 @entity1 . None of the @entity1 with @entity8792 had CA-antibodies. One MG @entity1 who developed MG after a bone-marrow transplantation, also developed CA-antibodies. The remaining 5 CA positive non- @entity704 MG @entity1 were all greater than 65 years and had thymic atrophy. Two of them had @entity1737 and @entity2760 rheumatica. In 2 @entity704 @entity1 with non-detectable levels of CA-antibodies before thymectomy, such antibodies were demonstrated in high titres after the operation. In 2 other sera from @entity704 @entity1 , the titres of CA-antibodies fell to less than 32 after thymectomy. There were 3 sera with CA-antibodies among 11 sera from non-MG @entity1 with thymic @entity5 .
