Peripheral K-lymphocyte population in head and neck cancer

Peripheral K-lymphocytes in head and neck cancer were measured by assay of plaque forming-cells. In the cancer patients, the percentage (4.37 +/- 0.87%, mean +/- SD, N = 42, P less than 0.01) and absolute counts (68 +/- 28/mm3, P less than 0.01) of K-lymphocytes were significantly lower than those in normal controls (8.04 +/- 1.41%; 175 +/- 53/mm3, N = 29). The untreated group showed decreased K-lymphocyte counts (63 +/- 22/mm3, N = 13) as compared with the treated, disease-free group (83 +/- 27/mm3, N = 13, P less than 0.05). There were significant correlations between absolute counts of K-lymphocytes and T-cells or B-cells within the untreated group (r = 0.79 in T-cells, P less than 0.01; r = 0.64 in B cells, P less than 0.01). Moreover, absolute counts and percentage of K-lymphocytes in the patients having regional lymph node metastasis (58 +/- 25/mm3; 4.14 +/- 0.77%, N = 22) were significantly lower than those in the negative node group (80 +/- 26/mm3, P less than 0.01; 4.63 +/- 0.91%, P less than 0.05; N = 20). In a total of 25 patients with squamous cell carcinoma who were grouped into grade I, II, and III according to classification of the histologic differentiation of the World Health Organization, the absolute counts and percentage of K-lymphocytes in the grade I group (93 +/- 33/mm3; 5.14 +/- 1.08%, N = 7) showed significant increases in comparison to those in the grade II group (62 +/- 19/mm3, P less than 0.02; 4.06 +/- 0.62%, P less than 0.02, N = 14). Moreover, the change of the K-lymphocyte population in the treated, disease-free eight patients revealed a gradual increase of K-lymphocytes. These results led us to suggest that the measurement of peripheral K-lymphocytes is a useful method of characterizing host defense in head and neck cancer.