Tumor-specific cell-mediated immunity in household contacts of cancer patients

Patients with osteogenic sarcoma (and related tumors), hypernephroma, and breast carcinoma, and their household contacts were tested for tumor-specific cell-mediated immunity against these tumors with the use of a short-term chromium-51 release assay. This assay, reproducible over many months and well-correlated with the clinical course of the patients, was used to demonstrate that household contacts of patients with osteogenic sarcoma and breast carcinoma have specific immunity against the tumor type with which they have been in contact. In both types of tumors, the range of cytotoxicity values produced by lymphocytes from the household contacts was significantly higher than that of the normal population. The incidence of immunity was much higher in household contacts of patients with breast carcinoma than in those of patients with osteogenic sarcoma. Immunity was found with equal frequency in men and women, as well as in genetically and nongenetically related household contacts (guardians, adopted children, spouses). Immunity against hypernephroma was not demonstrated in either patients with hypernephroma or their household contacts.