[Immunity in cancer patients and their household contacts]

In summarizing the reports regarding cellular immunity in the household contacts of patients with malignant tumors, household contacts of patients with neuroblastoma, ostegenic sarcoma, malignant melanoma, breast cancer and colonic cancer demonstrated significantly higher reactivity against tumor associated antigens (TAA), but those of hypernephroma did not so. The positiveness against TAA of household contacts had no genetical relationship, collaborating with the positiveness of anti-viral antibody in household contacts of patients with malignant tumors closely related with virus, for example, EB virus, HTLV, HIV and so on. These results suggest a possible vertical transmission of immunogen from cancer patients to their household contacts.