Concanavalin A-activated suppressor cell activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes of urologic cancer patients

Concanavalin A (Con A)-inducible suppressor cell activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of urologic cancer patients and of appropriate controls with benign urologic disorders was measured concurrently. Although the proliferative responses to Con A of the cancer patients were significantly lower than those of controls, no difference in Con A-induced suppressor cell activity was demonstrated between cancer patients and controls when tested under a variety of conditions. Moreover, regression analysis revealed no correlation between the proliferative response to Con A and suppressor cell activity in either cancer patients or controls. The results indicated that Con A-inducible suppressor cell activity was unaltered in urologic cancer patients and suggested that suppressor cells of the type that can be activated by Con A were not involved in the general immunologic impairment frequently associated with urologic cancer.