Lymphocyte function in the blood of patients with untreated non-Hodgkin lymphoma: influence of stage and pathology.

Abstract

Lymphocytotoxicity of T, non-T and K cells was found to be diminished in a proportion of 30 patients with untreated non-Hodgkin lymphoma; T cell number as enumerated by E sheep cell rosettes was also reduced. The reduction was greatest in patients with disease of unfavorable pathology; the effect of stage on these tests was not marked. Decreased skin reactivity was found in the same group of patients with unfavorable pathology. The reduction of direct and antibody dependent lymphocytotoxicity was not related to an obvious reduction in non-T cell numbers, as assessed by rosetting tests. There was, however, a decrease in phytohemagglutinin cytotoxicity in those groups with reduced T cell number. The influence of unfavorable pathology on lymphocyte effector function is emphasized by this study.