Inhibition of human leukocyte migration in agarose by kcl extracts of carcinoma of the lung.

The leukocyte migration in agarose assay recently developed by Clausen (Clausen, 1971), was used to test 22 lung cancer patients against soluble extracts of allogeneic lung cancer and allogeneic normal lung. Seventeen were inhibited to a significantly greater degree by at least one tumor extract (average migration index (MI equals 0.58) than by the corresponding normal lung extract (average MI equals 0.83). DNCB-positive and DNCB-negative patients reacted with equal frequency to tumor extracts. Three patients tested against their autologous tumor and normal lung extracts were specifically inhibited by the tumor extract (average MI equals 0.53) but not by the normal lung extract (average MI equals 0.83). None of seven lung cancer patients tested against non-pulmonary tumor extracts was significantly inhibited (average MI equals 1.1). Only 6/53 controls including patients with other tumors, patients with emphysema and age-matched non-smokers showed significant inhibition against any of the lung cancer extracts. These findings strongly suggest the presence of tumor-associated antigens in KCl-solubilized extracts of human lung cancer.