Tumor-specific cell-mediated immunity in household contacts of cancer patients..

Patients with osteogenic sarcoma (and related tumors), hypernephroma, and breast carcinoma, and their household contacts were tested for tumor-specific cell-mediated immunity against these tumors with the use of a short-term chromium-51 release assay. This assay, reproducible over many months and well-correlated with the clinical course of the patients, was used to demonstrate that household contacts of patients with osteogenic sarcoma and breast carcinoma have specific immunity against the tumor type with which they have been in contact. In both types of tumors, the range of cytotoxicity values produced by lymphocytes from the household contacts was significantly higher than that of the normal population. The incidence of immunity was much higher in household contacts of patients with breast carcinoma than in those of patients with osteogenic sarcoma. Immunity was found with equal frequency in men and women, as well as in genetically and nongenetically related household contacts (guardians, adopted children, spouses). Immunity against hypernephroma was not demonstrated in either patients with hypernephroma or their household contacts.

High incidence of migration inhibition reactivity to lung tumor-associated antigen by normal donors in close contact with lung cancer patients or materials.

A high incidence of indirect leukocyte migration inhibition reactivity of normal donors to a 3-M KCl extract from a fresh pleural effusion of a patient with a lung adenocarcinoma (designated 7661) was observed. When these normal donors were classified according to contact with lung cancer patients or materials, 22 of 32 (72%) normal donors in contact with lung cancer patients or materials were reactive with the 7661 extract as compared to only 3 of 76 (4%) who had no contact. Of normal donors involved in the direct care of lung cancer patients, 14 of 20 (70%) were positive, whereas only 2 of 10 (20%) hospital personnel who worked with noncancer patients were reactive. Among laboratory personnel who handled blood and tissue specimens from lung cancer patients, 8 of 11 (73%) were positive with the 7661 extract, whereas none of 5 laboratory workers who worked with cancer materials unrelated to lung cancer were positive. Also, none of 13 personnel working in laboratories adjacent to those where lung cancer tests were performed were reactive with 7661. None of the 16 blood bank donors and none of 11 secretarial and clerical staff who worked in biochemical laboratories were positive. Reactivity was no correlated with a smoking history. Thus development of reactivity appeared to require direct contact with lung cancer patients or materials. The results suggested a horizontal transmission of reactivity against an antigen associated with lung cancer.

Neoplastic response of the avian liver to host infection with strain Mc29 leukosis verus.

Studies were made on the oncogenic response of 3086 young chicks to i.v. inoculation of MC29 avian leukosis virus from blood plasma of previous-passage birds or the supernatant fluid of cultures of chick embryo cells infected with strain MC29. Among the large variety of neoplasms of other tissues previously described, there occurred a high incidence of primary growths of the liver. Pathomorphology of the growths frequently differed greatly in both different hosts and the same bird, but some uniformity of the types of neoplasms was evident in many animals. Despite much variation in histopathology, the large proportion of growths could be grouped in several distinctive categories. Examinations by light and electron microscopy provided evidence of derivation of the tumors by alteration of hepatocytes originating principally in the portal regions as indicated by forms transitional from the parenchymal cells to the cells of the different types of growths. Neoplastic aspects of the growths were evident by infiltration and invasion of adjacent tissues, penetration of blood vessels, transplantability to other avian hosts (described in another report), and metastasis to distant organs including the lung, kidney, and spleen. There was no evidence of tumors arising from the biliary system, and growths of cells resembling the biliary type could be traced to altered hepatocytes. None of the findings suggested conversion of biliary-type cells to hepatocytes. Continued growth resulted in anaplastic and metaplastic changes in cell morphology and structural organization and in the formation of cartilage, osteoid, and sarcoma-like spindle-cell tumors of probable epithelial origin. Development of the growths wasnot associated with cirrhosis, and necrosis was limited to infrequent disseminated, essentially unicellular changes or necrobiosis of small groups of cells. The marked variations in the type of virus-induced growths demonstrated the remarkable capacity of cells morphologically inidistinguishable from the hepatocytes for the most diverse alterations in cell structure and tissue organization. This neoplastic response of hepatocytes to the MC29 strain constitutes the only demonstration thus far of the specific hepatocarcinogenic activity of an avian tumor virus.