Depressed natural killer cell activity in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In vitro effects of interferon and levamisole.

Enriched lymphocytes from patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma showed considerably reduced natural cytotoxicity against two established hepatoma cell lines and against the myelogenous derived cell line K562, as compared to lymphocytes from normal volunteers or from patients with various nonmalignant liver diseases. The serum of hepatoma patients did not effect normal or patient NK cell activity. When lymphocytes from patients or controls were treated for three hours with human leukocyte interferon, NK cell cell activity was significantly improved. Levamisole did not produce a significant increase in normal NK cytotoxicity but did improve the killing of lymphocytes from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.