Lymphocyte mitogen stimulation studies for patients with lung cancer: evaluation of prognostic significance of preirradiation therapy studies.

The responses of lymphocytes to stimulation by three common plant mitogens (PHA, Con A, and PWM) have been studied prior to irradiation treatment in 65 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma. The lymphocyte mitogen stimulation (LMS) responses of these patients were determined to be normal or abnormal based on data obtained from similar studies in healthy volunteers. The data for the patients with lung cancer were analyzed for correlations between the lymphocyte responses and (1) the stage of disease, (2) prognostic significance, and (3) period of survival. Statistically significant correlations were observed between the responses of lymphocytes and the stage of disease and the period of survival. However, this study indicates that these correlated responses will be of limited prognostic clinical value for individual patients.