[Postoperative sequential testing of cytotoxic activity against the autologous and allogeneic tumor cells in patients with primary lung resected cancer].

The objective of this study of 27 primary lung resected cancer patients was to evaluate sequentially the cytotoxic activity against autologous and allogeneic tumor cells during the postoperative period. In patients given a complete resection, the cytotoxic activity against the autologous tumor cells during the postoperative 1-2 weeks was significantly higher than during the postoperative 4-5 weeks (P less than 0.05, Student t test). In patients given an incomplete resection, however, no significant difference was demonstrated between the postoperative 1-2 weeks and during the postoperative 4-5 weeks. In contrast, the cytotoxic activity against the PC-3 cells or K562 cells during the postoperative 4-5 weeks tended to rise in comparison to those at the postoperative 1-2 weeks all patients in any cancer stage and whatever the amount of their lung resection. The phenotype of the effector cells which mediated the cytotoxic activity to the autologous tumor cells was the monoclonal antibody OKT 3(+), 8(+), 4(-) OKM 1(-) and the cells which were cytotoxic to the K562 cells had an OKT 3(-), 4(-), 8(-), OKM 1(+) phenotype. These results suggest that the effectors which mediate cytotoxic activity to the autologous tumor cells and to the K562 cells seems to be different and a concomitant immunity may exist in primary lung resected cancer patients.