Gailon R. Bruns

Leukocyte adherence inhibition and immunoreactivity in prostatic cancer. I. Identification of anti-tumour cell-mediated immunity and "blocking" factor.

Abstract Modification of the recently described leukocyte adherence inhibition (LAI) test was utilized for the evaluation of anti-tumour cell-mediated immunity and the identification of “blocking” factor in 20 patients with prostatic cancer. Evidence of cross-reactivity of the observed anti-tumour immunity with extracts prepared from tumours of the same type and the specificity of “blocking” of the reactions for autologous sensitized lymphocytes and tumour only have similarly been demonstrated employing the LAI test. While the observed cross-reactivity between individual tumours, within each tumour type is in keeping with observations of anti-tumour immunity in patients with other tumours, e.g., colon, breast and melanoma, observations suggestive of a specificity of “blocking” for autologous tumour only is perhaps somewhat unique, of which further studies will be needed to confirm.

Evaluation of Cellular Immunologic Responsiveness in the Clinical Management of Patients with Prostatic Cancer

Thymic-dependent lymphocytic blastogenesis of peripheral blood lymphocytes of 59 patients with varying stages of prostatic cancer to the non-specific plant mitogen, phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and the correlation of their responsiveness with the clinical stage of malignancy and level of alpha2-globulin have been evaluated. Patients within each of the four stages of malignancy possessed statistically significant extrinsic (noted in 40 (68%) of 59 patients) and intrinsic (noted in 21 (47%) of 45 patients) aberrations of their lymphocytic responsiveness to PHA compared with the responsiveness of a control population of non-cancer patients. The observed aberrations were, however, not significantly different between each stage nor did they correlate with the stage of disease. Similarly, levels of alpha2-globulin, while significantly elevated within each stage, as compared with the levels in the control population, no significant differences or correlation with the stage of disease was observed. Of interest, perhaps pending further study, were observations of the increased frequency of the number of patients with a significant elevation of alpha2 with a progression of malignancy from localized to invasive and metastatic disease. A similar trend in the incidence of the association of aberrations of lymphocytic reactivity with elevated levels of alpha2 were also noted with a progression of disease. The present confirmatory observations of a recent study in this laboratory of diminished cellular responsiveness in patients with prostatic cancer may be of considerable relevance in directing the therapeutic management of the patient - lest the therapy selected be further debilitating providing reduced surveillance - metastization of tumour cells, and alteration of tumour-host homeostasis.

Biphasic effect of cryosurgery of the prostate on lymphocyte proliferation.

Abstract In a preliminary study, cryosurgery of the prostate in patients with prostatic cancer has been observed to possess a biphasic effect on the proliferative responsiveness of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) to the plant mitogen, phytohaemagglutinin. Phytohaemagglutinin-stimulated PBL cultured in autologous serum obtained up to 1 week postoperatively showed reduction from their preoperative levels. In contrast, cultures in homologous serum showed increased responsiveness following cryosurgery. Although depression of lymphocyte proliferation in autologous serum was transitory, gradually returning to approximate or exceeding levels of lymphocytic reactivity observed preoperatively, such depression may facilitate reduced host surveillance to potential infectious agents and to metastatic tumour cells, leading to an alteration of tumour-host homeostasis. Further studies will be required to delineate the possible clinical significance of the present observations.

Antiandrogenic suppression of lymphocytic blastogenesis: in vitro and in vivo observations

Nachweis, dass die Fähigkeit zur Blastogenese der Lymphozyten gesunder junger Männer nach Reizung mit Phytohämagglutinin im peripheren Blut unterdrückt wird, wenn die Lymphozyten zusammen mit östrogen (Diethylstilbestrol-Diphosphat) kultiviert werden.

The Effect of Transurethral Resection of the Prostate on Lymphocyte Response in Patients with Prostatic Cancer

The following study indicates that transurethral resection may affect the in vivo cellular aspects of the immune response in patients with prostatic cancer. This in vivo result seems to be supported by the fact that patients dying of carcinoma of the prostate at our institution usually had had an antecedent transurethral resection. Therefore, we emphasize that transurethral resection in patients with prostate cancer should be undertaken with clear-cut indications and with the knowledge that it may be an insult to the patients immune system.