Lymphotoxin production in cancer patients: possible relation to blastogenesis and the degree of tumor disease.

Peripheral blood lymphocytes from healthy donors, cancer patients, and noncancer patients were cultured with or without phytohemagglutinin (PHA) for 3 days, supernatant containing lymphotoxin (LT) was added to L cells, and LT activities were examined. LT release by PHA-stimulated lymphocytes from patients with uterine cervical cancer in stages 0 and I decreased and the degree of the decrease was much more marked in stage IV. However, LT activities released spontaneously without PHA were higher in patients with uterine myoma, patients with uterine cervical cancer in stages II to IV, patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, and patients with gastro-intestinal cancer. Relation of LT release and blastogenesis following stimulation with PHA was also examined. Correlation was observed in only 14 out of 43 patients with uterine cervical cancer (32.6%). The role of LT in cancer patients was discussed.