Lymphocyte response to autochthonous human solid tumor cells: relationship to histological types and tumor load

Mixed lymphocyte--tumor cell cultures were made with materials from patients with various histological types of cancer. In 25 out of 89 patients, positive lymphocyte response to tumor cells was observed. There appeared to be an inverse relationship between the frequency of positive responses and extent of the disease. Patients with neuroblastoma, however, showed more frequent positive responses in cases of widespread disease. The data obtained may have valuable clinical implications, supporting the possibility of immunotherapy of cancer patients.