Clinical studies of intrathecal autologous lymphocyte infusions in patients with malignant glioma: a toxicity study.

The feasibility and toxicity of intrathecal lymphoid cell infusions in patients with glioma were examined in this study. Blood rich in lymphoid cells was obtained using the Haemonetics Model 30 cell separator; the lymphoid cells extracted were further purified on Ficoll-Hypaque gradients. Four patients received a total of eighteen autologous lymphoid cell infusions, with between 1 X 10(6) and 5 X 10(9) lymphoid cells being infused on each occasion. No toxicity was observed, but the CSF glucose declined in 2 patients. In 1 patient examined at autopsy the lymphoid cells appeared to have gained access to the tumor bed as well as to the rest of the subarachnoid space.