Quantitation of Lymphocytes and T-Cell Subsets in Patients With Disseminated Cancer23

Abstract

Human peripheral blood T-cells were divided into subsets on the basis of their ability to bind to the Fc receptor portion of IgG (T_G cells) or IgM (T_M cells). These subsets were studied in 25 patients with newly diagnosed disseminated malignant solid tumors. When compared to a group of healthy, agematched controls, cancer patients as a group exhibited significantly increased percentages of T_G cells and significantly decreased percentages and numbers of T_M cells. Comparison of the values determined for individual patients to those determined for groups of 10 healthy individuals in the same decade of life revealed that most cancer patients had normal levels of lymphocytes and T-cells, but many had aberrant values for T-cell subsets.