Natural killing activities in chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Previously we proposed a new analysis of natural killing activity, for comparison, employing an individual effector/target cell ratio according to the peripheral number of effector cells. Using this analysis, we studied natural killing activities in chronic liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The activity in chronic persistent hepatitis remained nearly at the level of the nonactivated state, but that was significantly elevated in chronic active hepatitis. The activity in liver cirrhosis (LC) of Child's A or B grade was at the level of a nonactivated or reduced-activity state, while LC patients with impaired general conditions showed significantly elevated activities. In HCC, each of which was accompanied by LC in our cases, the activity appeared to be associated with the progression of HCC. Thus, natural killing activity showed a close relationship with the condition of chronic liver diseases.