Autogenous leukocyte migration in human malignancies.

The leukocyte migration test (L.M.T.) was utilized for in vitro study of cell-mediated immunity in human malignancies. Tumor cells and autogenous peripheral blood leukocytes from 35 patients with various malignancies, who were not receiving any therapy, were studied. There was inhibition of the migration of the autogenous leukocytes in 18 of 20 patients with resectable tumors who had no evidence of hematogenous metastasis or widespread disease, whether the local lymph nodes were involved or not. However, the migration of autogenous leukocytes from patients with hematogenous metastasis or widespread disease was not inhibited in 14 of 15 patients whether the tumor cells were obtained from the primary or metastatic sites. The utilization of fresh, frozen-thawed (dead) tumor cells, or tumor cell extracts gave almost the same results. This could indicate that localized tumors were recognized as antigenic by the presensitized autogenous leukocytes, resulting in the inhibition of the migration. This state seemed to disappear in the presence of hematogenous metastasis. Normal tissues did not inhibit the migration of the autogenous leukocytes, presumably because these had not been recognized as foreign or antigenic.