The surface structure of peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with laryngeal carcinoma evaluated by scanning...

Using the scanning electron microscopic technique the surface structure of the peripheral blood lymphocytes has been studied in 20 men aged 46 to 62 years with the laryngeal carcinoma diagnosed clinically and histopathologically. The control group consisted of 20 healthy men aged 39 to 58 years. According to the international classification 15 of 20 patients studied showed the T3N0M0 stage of the disease and other five the T4N0M0 stage respectively. The peripheral blood lymphocytes of the patients showed significantly greater variability of the surface structure as compared with the controls. The characteristic pattern of the lymphocytes in patients with cancer of the larynx was quantitative increase in numbers of lymphocytes having smooth surface deprived of microvilli and significant decrease of cells exhibiting numerous surface microvilli; these cells may correspond to the T and the B cell series, respectively. Moreover, the patients showed significant, approximately threefold increase in number of lymphocytes having the intermediate surface morphology between above mentioned two basic lymphocyte topographical types. According to the authors opinion above differences between the lymphocytes of patients with cancer of the larynx and those from healthy subjects are associated with the antitumor response of the lymphocytes.