E rosettes in the uranium miners with lung cancer.

Rosette forming cells (RFC) were evaluated in the peripheral blood of healthy persons, patients with lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. Simultaneously the levels of RFC in persons with and without radiation exposure were compared. Two types of rosettes were enumerated: 1) lymphocytes binding 1 or 2 sheep red blood cells (SRBC), 2) lymphocytes binding 3 or more SRBC. Then the sum of both types was calculated. The patients with lung cancer were divided according to the TNM classification and histological types. The relative and absolute numbers of RFC in 1 microliter of peripheral blood proved depressed capacity of peripheral T-lymphocytes to form rosettes not only in patients with cancer or chronic bronchitis but also in controls with radiation exposure. Furthermore, there was established that the control group with radiation exposure was not different from the patients with cancer or chronic bronchitis.