Lymphotoxin production by regional lymph node lymphocytes in patients with uterine cervical cancer.

The cytotoxin production by regional lymph node cells was examined in 25 patients with uterine cervical cancer and 10 patients with uterine myoma. The patients in stage I had significantly increased spontaneous release of cytotoxins compared with that in stages II, III, and IV. The spontaneous release in stages III and IV was markedly reduced. There was no difference in the release of cytotoxins from peripheral blood lymphocytes between cancer patients and patients with myoma or healthy controls. The cytotoxin production by lymph node cells was increased in stage III by stimulating with formalin-fixed QG-K cells derived from uterine cervical cancer, but not in stages I and II. Almost all of the cytotoxic activity of cytotoxin was abrogated by antilymphotoxin antibody. However, the cytotoxin activity was partially inhibited by anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody. These results suggest that cytotoxins released from the regional lymph node cells of uterine cancer patients are derived from, most of all, lymphotoxin.