In vitro cellular responses to autologous tumor extract detected by inhibition of macrophage migration.

Indirect macrophage migration technique was employed to study in vitro cellular immune response to autologous tumor extract in man. Cellular hypersensitivity to autologous tumor extract was detected in 21 (26%) of 80 patients with various carcinomas preoperatively by means of the in vitro production of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF). The relative frequency of MIF production in these patients varied inversely with progress of the diseases. The follow-up studies reveal postoperative decline of the cellular hypersensitivity after curative operation. These findings indicate that this assay can be applied for detecting cellular hypersensitivity to autologous tumor extracts in clinical situation.