[A study of IL-2 activity on lung cancer]

By using thymocytes of mice as target cells in bioassay, IL-2 production activity was investigated in 24 lung cancer patients, 24 noncancerous pulmonary lesions as well as 20 normal individuals. Fourteen cancer patients were reexamined after the first course of chemotherapy. This research demonstrated that: 1. PBL capable of IL-2 production in lung cancer patients were rare in comparison with benign disease or normal control. 2. IL-2 activity was markedly enhanced by chemotherapy. It is suggested that IL-2 is a good indicator for estimating the efficacy of treatment of lung cancer.