Elevated cytostatic activity of monocytes from cancer patients

Cytostatic activity of peripheral blood monocytes from patients with head and neck cancer, gastro-intestinal cancer, uterine cervical cancer, benign tumors of the head and neck, inflammatory diseases and pulmonary tuberculosis was studied by using a cultured lymphoid cell line as the target cell. Significantly higher cytostatic activities were observed at an effector-target cell ratio of 5:1 in these patients (except for pulmonary tuberculosis patients) than in healthy controls. The cytostatic activity of the monocytes from gastric cancer patients was more elevated in advanced stages than in stage 1. The cytostatic activity of culture supernatants of monocytes from cancer patients did not differ from that of healthy controls. The activity of the monocytes following radiation therapy combined with chemotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer was depressed. The significance of elevated cytostatic activity of monocytes in cancer patients is discussed.