Sera of patients with cancer or cirrhosis and of newborns exhibiting inhibitory effects on the metabolism of cortisol by lymphocytes.

The effect was examined of ethanol extracts of normal sera (NS), cancer patients' sera (CPS), cirrhosis patients' sera (CirPS), and umbilical cord sera (UCS) on cortisol metabolism by lymphocytes (CML). All the ethanol extracts of these sera showed an inhibitory effect on CML. The most significant inhibition was obtained with CPS and CirPS followed by UCS. A significant inhibition of NS was obtained after doubling their equivalent volume.