Immune aspects of neuroblastoma: Current information

Abstract

A number of independent studies from Seattle on the immune aspects of neuroblastoma are summarized. It has been demonstrated that most patients with neuroblastoma, cured or otherwise, have lymphocytes which are cytotoxic to neuroblastoma cells in tissue culture. Sixty-eight per cent of twenty-five family members also exhibit the same lymphocyte activity, which was shown in only 4 per cent of control individuals. Further evidence of the importance of the lymphocyte is demonstrated by the fact that both lymphocytic infiltrates in the tumors and higher blood lymphocyte counts at diagnosis correlate with improved survival rates. In a relatively few tests, cytotoxic immune activity has been demonstrated in the serum of some patients and some family members against neuroblastoma cells in tissue culture. The serum of each of six patients with active disease has demonstrated the capacity to prevent the cytotoxic activity of the lymphocytes against neuroblastoma cells in tissue culture by what is known as a “blocking antibody.” This blocking activity was not demonstrated in the serum of four children cured of the disease. An hypothesis of an immune balance in relation to a patient's welfare is suggested, in which there are favorable cytotoxic activities by the lymphocytes and sometimes by the serum, and in which there are detrimental effects by the tumor cells themselves and by their protective “blocking antibodies.”