Neural cell adhesion molecules (NCAMs) are a family of closely related cell surface glycoproteins involved in cell to cell interactions during growth and thought to play an important role in embryogenesis and development. The expression of these molecules is widespread in all three germ layers during embryogenesis, but is more restrictive in adult tissues. NCAM expression is observed in a variety of human tumors including neuroblastomas, rhabdo-myosarcomas, Wilms' tumor, Ewing's sarcoma and some primitive myeloid malignancies. Multiple isoforms of NCAM have been reported in both mouse and human brain tissue. In humans, NCAMs arise from differential splicing and use of alternative polyadenylation sites of a single gene mapping to 11q23.
