Ritts, Roy E.

Numbers and percentages of T and B cells in peripheral blood; blastogenic responses to PHA, Con A, and PWM; and serum levels of albumin, total protein, and IgA were assessed in patients with stages I to III operable squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive passageways in the head and neck.The patients were categorized into two groups: those who remained tumor free and those in whom cancer recurred. It was found that pretreatment PHA‐ and Con A‐induced blastogenesis was often depressed in patients in whom clinically apparent recurrences developed regardless of stage or nodal involvement. This point is consistent with the idea that cellular immune function (blastogenesis) can identify, within the clinical staging system (TN), subpopulations of patients who are less likely to survive after conventional therapy.

Two strains of mice (C-57 B1 and DBA) were given skin allografts from Swiss ICR/HA mice and were treated with varying doses of concanavalin A; the dosage ranged from only two injections of 25 micrograms during the experiment to daily doses of 1000 micrograms intraperitoneally. Immunosuppression was present at all dosages, the most prolonged and consistent effect being observed at 300 micrograms per day. Grafts survived for 14 to 21 days at this dosage compared to 4 to 9 days for controls.