[Distribution of lymphocyte subsets in regional lymph nodes in uterine cervical cancer and its immunological significance].
We performed an immunohistochemical study on the distribution of lymphocyte subsets in the regional lymph nodes in uterine cervical cancer. The lymph nodes from patients with cervical cancer were stained with monoclonal antibodies to Leu 1,2,3 and 7 as the indicators of pan T, killer/suppressor T, helper/inducer T, and NK/K cells, respectively. On the lymph nodes without tumor involvement, there were a greater number of lymphocytes of each subset in the nodes in stage Ib without nodal metastasis than in the nodes in stage Ia and stage Ib with nodal metastasis and stage II, suggesting that the regional lymph nodes have active immune reactions in stage Ib cancer without nodal metastasis. On the lymph nodes with tumor involvement, there were great numbers of lymphocytes of each subset, especially Leu 7+ cells, in the nodes with local invasion, suggesting that very strong immune reactions occur in these nodes. On the other hand, there were very few lymphocytes in the nodes with diffused tumor. The present findings suggest that regional lymph nodes in cervical cancer play important roles in antitumor immune response and, furthermore, even the tumor-involved lymph nodes are of great immunological significance if the metastatic tumor is localized.
Kinugasa
M
M
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kobe University School of Medicine.
Akahori
T
T
Mochizuki
M
M
Hasegawa
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000276:immunology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008875:Middle Aged; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology