Colon Carcinoma Patients Research Articles

Age-related impairment of tumor-associated lymphocytotoxicity in patients with colonic adenocarcinoma.

The in-vitro lymphocytotoxic responses of 27 preoperative colonic-carcinoma patients and 61 healthy volunteers were correlated with age by linear regression analysis. Cytotoxicity obtained with leukocytes from the colonic-cancer patients on the colonic cancer cell line decreased with increasing age. In contrast, cytotoxicity obtained with leukocytes from the control group on the same cell line did not correlate with age of the donor. Furthermore, the decline in cytolysis in the patient group could not be attributed to more extensive disease. These observations suggest that increasing age is an important factor associated with the decline in ability of colorectal cancer patients to generate a disease-related cytolytic reaction.

The Significance of Cytotoxicity of Lymphocyte Populations in Colon Carcinoma Patients in Comparison to Normal Controls Using a New Statistical Method of Evaluation

Lymphocytotoxicity was studied in patients suffering from colon carcinoma. 125Iododeoxyuridin-labeled established colon carcinoma cells were used as target cells in a cytotoxicity assay according to Cohen et al. (1). They were incubated with unfractionated lymphocytes of the peripheral blood, purified T cells or adherent cells as effector cells. The cytotoxic effect was measured in cpm, i. e. the radioactivity released from the target cells into the supernatant. The cpm were adjusted by eliminating the variables of spontaneous release and of maximal incorporated radioactivity of the target cells.The cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes to colon carcinoma target cells was dose-dependent. It was demonstrated for lymphocytes from colon carcinoma patients as well as for lymphocytes from healthy controls. Although adjusted cpm values were used for statistical analysis lymphocytes from the 20 colon carcinoma patients did not show a higher cytotoxic effect than lymphocytes from the 20 healthy controls. However, when the results were compared separately for each experiment consisting of 2 colon carcinoma patients and 3 healthy controls, statistical significant specific lymphocytotoxicity was demonstrated for lymphocytes from colon carcinoma patients. The plot diagram of the results and the statistical evaluation by the multivariate analysis of variance (Manova) offer a clear and comprehensible representation of the results of the cytotoxic assays, without the necessity of adjusting the cpm values. Particularly for statistical reasons, this representation is superior to the usual calculation of percent specific lysis. It was demonstrated in this study that the cytotoxic activity in the absence of autologous serum is a function of T cells of the peripheral blood. Adherent cells have a high cytotoxic activity regardless whether the cells were obtained from colon carcinoma patients or from healthy controls.

Isolation and characterization of N6-succinyladenosine from human urine.

From the urines of colon carcinoma patients and normal subjects we have isolated a nucleoside in which an amino group of aspartic acid is attached to the six position of purine ribonucleoside. The structure, N6-succinyladenosine, N-(9-B-D-ribofuranosylpurin-6-yl)aspartic acid was assigned on the basis of spectral data, chemical degradation, and by synthesis. The ultraviolet and mass spectra, chromatographic and electrophoretic mobilities, and the chemical properties of the naturally occurring nucleoside were identical to those of the synthetic N6-succinyladenosine. In contrast to the methylated and hypermodified nucleosides which are products of RNA catabolism, this urinary nucleoside appears to be derived from adenylosuccinic acid, a key intermediate required in the biosynthesis of ubiquitous, natural purine nucleotide adenosine-5'-monophosphate (AMP).

A long-term 51chromium assay for in vitro cell-mediated tumor immunity. Correlation with simultaneously performed microplate assays.

In vitro assays of cell-mediated tumor immunity utilizing 51Chromium (51Cr) labelling of cultured adherent solid tumor cells were designed which allowed an effector cell/target cell incubation time of 48 h without overriding spontaneous 51Cr release. In a series of 16 consecutive experiments, blood lymphocytes from healthy human donors, from patients with tumors unrelated to the cultural tumor target cells, and from colon carcinoma and melanoma patients were tested for their cytotoxic effects on various target cell pairs, human colon carcinoma, melanoma, or skin fibroblasts. The same reagents were used in simultaneously performed microplate and 51Cr assays. Results obtained by visual counting of microplate tests and by 24-h assays of 51Cr release or 51Cr retention correlated in 20/25 effector-cell/target-cell combinations. In a series of six consecutive experiments, lymph-node cells from untreated Wistar/Furth rats, and rats bearing either chemically-induced colon carcinoma NG-W1 or polyoma virus-induced sarcoma P-W13 were tested for their cytotoxicity on syngeneic rat colon carcinoma and sarcoma target cells. Criss-cross type experiments were performed by microplate and 15Cr techniques done in parallel. Results obtained by visual counting of microplate tests and by 48 h assays of 51Cr release or 51Cr retention correlated in 15/18 effector-cell/target-cell combinations.

Cell-mediated and humoral immune reactions to human tumours.

AbstractPeripheral lymphocytes from cancer patients were tested for immune reactivity against cultured target cells derived from carcinomas of colon, rectum, breast, kidney and lung, and a melanoma by microcytotoxicity in plastic plates. Lymphocytes from colon or rectum carcinoma patients were cytotoxic for allogeneic colon or rectum carcinoma cells in 61% of tests, and no difference in reactivity could be detected between pre‐ or post‐operative patients. Breast carcinoma patients' lymphocytes were cytotoxic for breast carcinoma cells in 50% of cases tested. Autochthonous lymphocytes were reactive against melanoma cells, but no lymphocyte cytotoxicity could be demonstrated on cells of a renal carcinoma or a lung carcinoma. None of the lymphocyte preparations tested reacted positively against cells of a tumour different from that of the lymphocyte donor, and none reacted against cells from normal colon. Complement‐dependent cytotoxic humoral antibody was regularly detected against breast carcinomas, but only one sample of colon carcinoma serum, from a post‐operative patient, was reactive against colon carcinoma cells. Sera from melanoma patients likewise were only reactive against melanoma cells in two post‐operative cases.

Inguinal hernia and colorectal carcinoma.

There were 969 cases of inguinal hernia repairs and 210 of colorectal carcinoma resection, treated at the Long Beach Veterans Administration Hospital between 1965 and 1970, reviewed. Two hundred one barium studies were performed, 65% of which were on patients over 50 years of age. Three polyps were found above the 25-cm level, one of which required operation. No case of colon carcinoma was detected. When clinical indications were present, the diagnostic yield from barium enema was twice that of when surveys were done. In the six cases of colon cancer (among the 210 studied), where a recent inguinal hernia coexisted, the symptoms were due to the cancer rather than to the hernia. The study does not support the use of routine barium enemas for the detection of occult colon carcinoma in patients with asymptomatic inguinal hernias.