Cell-mediated immunity in the blood of women with inflammatory and neoplastic lesions of the ovary.

Blood samples from 181 women with inflammatory conditions and with benign or malignant neoplasms of the ovary and from 36 healthy women (control group) were examined by determining the following indicators of cell-mediated immunity: leukocyte count, lymphocyte count, absolute number of lymphocytes, percentage of rosette-forming T lymphocytes, absolute number of T lymphocytes, and phagocytic activity of granulocytes. In women with ovary inflammation, there was a very high phagocytic activity of granulocytes. It correlated with an increased leukocyte count. The activity and number of T lymphocytes were very low in this group. In this group was also the lowest percentage of lymphocytes. In the group with malignancies of the ovary, there were the same very low activity and number of T lymphocytes. The values of T lymphocytes in inflammations and malignancies were almost equal and did not differ significantly from one another. The phagocytic activity of granulocytes was the lowest in women with malignancies of the ovary. In blood of women with benign neoplasms of the ovary, the activity and number of T lymphocytes and the activity of granulocytes were significantly higher than in the malignancies group.