Relationship between lymphocytic cytotoxicity and phytohemagglutinin-induced lymphoblastogenesis before and after...

Experimental study was performed on changes in lymphocytic cytotoxicity and phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-lymphoblastogenesis after surgical tumor excision and on a possibility of estimating antitumor immunocompetence based on the latter parameter, using 3-methyl-cholanthrene-induced mammary cancer, MRMT-1, of SD rats. When the tumor was excised at 2 weeks after inoculation, cytotoxicity showed, after a transient rise, a marked reduction at 4 weeks postoperatively in the cases of postoperative negative metastasis, while it showed a high peak at 3 weeks postoperatively, followed by a sharp descent, in the cases of postoperative positive metastasis. On the other hand, PHA-lymphoblastogenesis was found to recover a relatively high level postoperatively, in the cases of both negative and positive metastases. It appears to be difficult to estimate specific cytotoxicity from PHA-blastogenesis, but both are useful, in complementary fashion, to estimate the antitumor immunocompetence.