The fine specificity of the elicited anti-carbohydrate antibodies was assessed by determining their reactivity against N-Acetyl GM3 (a widely expressed ganglioside in the surface of normal cells), against an N-glycolyl neuraminic acid-rich mucin, against a tumor cell line expressing high levels of NeuGcGM3 on its cell surface and against NeuGcGM3-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue sections. This evidence concerns the gene MUC5AC and non-small cell lung carcinoma.