Abstract
KUMANO, N., KOINUMARU, S., SUZUKI, S., ISHIKAWA, T., OIZUMI, K. and KONNO, K. Tumor Histology and the Immunoregulatory T Lymphocyte Subsets in Lung Cancer Patients. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1986, 150 (4), 483-484-The immunoregulatory T lymphocyte subsets (CD4+, CD8+) in 39 patients with primary lung cancer were analyzed as for the possible correlation with tumor histology. Compared to the healthy controls (n=36), cancer lymphocytes were generally characterized by a higher proportion of CD8+ subset (p<0.01) with no difference in either CD4+ subset or CD3+ cells. There was, however, a significant difference (p<0.05) between one extreme of epidermoid carcinoma with the highest CD8+ and the lowest ratio (CD4+/8+) and the other end of adenocarcinoma with the lowest CD8+ and the highest ratio. Large cell and small cell carcinomas were of the intermediate values. A spectrum of the subset marker profiles was thus found in association with tumor histology. A diversity in the host immune status was suggested in primary lung cancer, although clinical implication remains to be clarified.
