[Autologous tumor killing (ATK) and tumor metastasis in human cancer patients].
The present study has demonstrates that the ability of blood lymphocytes to kill freshly isolated tumor cells tested at the time of surgery predicts a favorable clinical course in patients who have primary localized solid tumor and receive curative operation. The strong correlation of autologous tumor killing (ATK) activity with tumor-free interval and total survival indicates that ATK activity is a meaningful prognostic indicator and provides evidence for immunological control of tumor growth and metastasis. According to these data, it is unlikely that cancer patients who remain tumor-free after 5 years of follow-up will develop recurrence or die from the disease. While there is no direct evidence that ATK effector cells play a critical role in regression of tumor and prevention of tumor metastasis and regrowth, the lack of ATK activity in patients who relapsed and died after surgery may not result from factors related to their poor performance status and other immunological functions since no differences have been observed in background factors between ATK-positive and-negative groups. The prognostic value of ATK activity in patients with documented metastatic tumors has not been established yet. In this respect, however, the induction of ATK activity by biological therapy has positively correlated with prolonged survival time, while such a correlation is not observed with other parameters such as NK cells or LAK cell activity. Based on the clinical and biological significance of ATK activity, clinical trials have been conducted to determine whether the induction of ATK activity before surgery by administration of BRM could improve the clinical outcome in patients who naturally have no such potential.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Uchida
A
A
Department of Late Effect Studies, Kyoto University, Japan.
Kariya
Y
Y
D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D016246:Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating / Q000276:immunology*; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000276:immunology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate
D007155:Immunologic Factors