Abstract
Cell changes were studied in short term cultures of circulating lymphocytes from eight cancer patients undergoing surgery with general anesthesia. Two blood samples were drawn from each patient, one immediately before and one after surgery. Over 8, 500 and 7, 600 cells were counted in the pre and postsurgery samples, respectively. It is found that, after surgery, both mitotic rate and incorporation of tritiated thymidine may be decreased, and that this decrease may have resulted from the effect of anesthetics, although a trauma of surgery effect cannot be ruled out. No apparent chromosomal damage occurred in the patients studied.
