Postoperative Depression of Tumour-directed Cell-mediated Immunity in Patients with Malignant Disease

Abstract

Leucocytes from 46 melanoma patients, 45 breast carcinoma patients, and 95 control donors were tested by the leucocyte migration test against the supernatants of homogenates of malignant melanomas, breast carcinomas, simple breast tumours, and breasts showing simple cystic disease. By comparison with controls inhibition of migration occurred significantly more frequently when tumour patients' leucocytes were exposed to extracts of histogenetically similar tumours. © 1972, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.