Impairment of thymus-derived lymphoid cell function in patients with basal cell carcinoma

The host-tumor relationships in 34 patients with basal cell carcinoma was investigated by characterizing thymus-derived (T) and bone marrow-derived (B) lymphoid subpopulations in the blood by cell surface markers and lymphoid function in vitro by proliferative responses to mitogenic and antigenic stimulation. Results were correlated with tumor stage. In patients with tumor present, the data demonstrate significantly (P less than .02) decreased responsiveness of T cells to the lectin mitogens phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A, and further demonstrate significantly decreased responsiveness of T cells to antigens (P less than .001 for Candida antigen, P less than .05 for Staphylococcal filtrate and Streptococcal varidase). In patients who were grossly disease free after resection of tumors, there was no significant difference in these responses from normal. These results document, for the first time, impaired T-cell function in patients with basal cell carcinoma and suggest that the functional impairment is tumor induced.