Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity of sera from cancer patients against cultured cervical cancer cell lines.

Cytotoxicity of sera from cervical cancer patients mediated by peripheral blood lymphocytes against cervical cancer cell lines was studied. Percentages of reduction of target QG-K by sera from healthy controls and cervical cancer patients were 4.7% and 32.0%, respectively. Sera from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis also exhibited antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) against the cells. Especially, high degree of activity was observed in the sera from patients with stage IV and the activity decreased to the control level in recurrent cases. The titer of the sera varied against different target cell lines, and the activity was found even at 1:10(4) dilution of the sera. These activities remained after absorption of the serum with other tumor cells. Complement-dependent cytotoxic activity of the sera was not observed. The meaning of the cytotoxic activity of the sera from cervical cancer patients was discussed.