Abstract
Leukocyte migration inhibition test (LMIT) was performed in 46 patients with primary lung cancer. The three kinds of antigens were allogeneic 3 M KCl extracts of lung cancer tissues obtained from the patients with adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma. Nine of 46 patients (19%) were positive in LMIT with adenocarcinoma antigen, seven patients (15%) with squamous cell carcinoma antigen and 11 patients (24%) with small cell carcinoma antigen. Ten patients with benign lung disease, ten patients with non-pulmonary cancer and 12 healthy controls were all negative. These results suggest that some patients with lung cancer had cell-mediated immunity against a common lung tumor-associated antigen. Further study on the relationEhip between LMIT and clinical stage of lung cancer revealed that the percentage of positive LMIT in patients with localized disease was higher than that of patients in extensive disease. Serial determination of migration index was correlated with the clinical course. Analysis of survival according to LMIT response showed that the positive group had a longer survival than the negative group. Thus, LMIT may be a useful parameter to monitor the clinical course in patients with lung cancer.
