An artificial lymph gland: a new approach to cancer therapy

We are witnessing the initial stages of an era of extracorporeal blood cell manipulation aimed at amplifying, modifying, modulating, and regulating immune function. In some respects, this manipulation reproduces lymph organ functions. The basic technology is blood cell separation by continuous flow centrifugation resulting in isolation of mononuclear cells. These cells are activated in-vivo and ex-vivo with biological response modifiers. These modifiers appear to have applicability in the adoptive immunotherapy of cancer as shown in preliminary data obtained with lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells used in the treatment of advanced cancer in humans. The potential utilization of lymphokines as activators of tumoricidal activity by immunologic effector cells harvested from the cancer patient by cytapheresis is the subject of active research.