Effect of radiotherapy on lymphocyte cytotoxicity against allogeneic lung cancer cells in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma.

Cytotoxicity of peripheral blood lymphocytes against allogeneic target cells of bronchogenic carcinoma was examined by a microcytotoxicity test before, during, and after radiotherapy in primary lung cancer patients. Before the treatment, cytotoxicity was depressed only slightly in patients in stage III and strikingly in those in stage IV, as compared to the values in patients at earlier stages of lung cancer such as stages I AND II. Local irradiation scarcely affected cytotoxicity at stages II and III, but augmented remarkably at stage IV. The number of peripheral blood lymphocytes decreased profoundly during and after radiotherapy in all cases of stages II, III, and IV. Although radiotherapy exhibited various effects on the cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes and the number of peripheral blood lymphocytes, only the cytotoxic activity at the end of radiotherapy correlated well with the reduction in tumor size.