Blocking of cell‐mediated tumor immunity by sera from patients with growing neoplasms

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Abstract
Blood lymphocytes from tumor patients can specifically destroy cultivated neoplastic cells of the same histological origin as the tumors of the lymphocyte donors, irrespective of whether or not the donors have symptoms of growing tumor.The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether sera from tumor patients could block the cytotoxic effect of lymphocytes immune to the specific antigens of the respective neoplasms. A wide variety of tumors were included in the tests, namely malignant melanomas, carcinomas of the colon, breast, ovary, endometrium, kidney, cervix uteri, lung, larynx, bladder, Fallopian tube, lip, seminomas and sarcomas.Sera from 67 out of 81 patients with growing neoplasms were found to block the cytotoxic effect of specifically immune lymphocytes. A blocking effect was seen both when the tumor cells, lymphocytes and sera were derived from the same patients and when the lymphocytes and sera were taken from different donors who had the same types of tumor as the target cells. No blocking was seen when the same sera were tested on tumors of histological types other than those of the respective serum donors.A blocking serum activity was seen in only three of 19 patients who were symptomfree after tumor therapy. The findings thus suggest that there is a correlation between tumor growth in vivo and the presence of a blocking serum activity in vitro.

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