Lymphocyte response in patients with head and neck cancer: effect of clinical stage and radiotherapy.

Ffty-three patients with head and neck cancer tested before radiation treatment to determine numbers of blood lymphocytes and immunologic responses to mitogens of lymphocytes in whole-blood cultures had mean values that were 19% to 26% less than values for healthy individuals. Thirty patients whose disease was in stages III or IV had values similar to those in 23 patients whose disease was in stages I or II. Values for 45 patients tested at end of radiotherapy decreased to about 50% of pretreatment values; however, patients with advanced lesions experienced greater decreases (to 24% to 50%) than patients with localized lesions (to 71% to 84%). Patients with advanced lesions usually received radiation to larger areas than patients with localized lesions; therefore, the extent of decline in laboratory values was most likely dependent on volume of tissue treated.

Effects of single and combined chemotherapeutic agents on hemopoietic stem cells in mice.

Bone marrow cell responses to injections of nitrogen mustard, oncovin, procarbazine, hydrocortisone, and a regimen of all four drugs (MOPH) were evaluated in CRF1 and C57B1/6 mice by determining bone marrow cellularity and content of transplantable colony forming units (CFU) after treatment. The study was done to determine whether the combined regimen, which is widely used clinically in treatment of disseminated Hodgkin's disease, is more or less detrimental to the hemopoietic system than the same drugs used as single agents. Nitrogen mustard and procarbazine used clinically as single drugs are given in three and two times, respectively, greater doses than in the combined regimen. Hydrocortisone, given singly, was least toxic of the drugs, reducing the CFU/femur to 63% and 71% of control values. MOPH appeared slightly more toxic than hydrocortisone, resulting in 41% and 52% of the CFU/femur surviving, and was about equally as toxic as oncovin alone. Nitrogen mustard and procarbazine, administered as single drugs in high doses, were highly suppressive, resulting in only 10-19% survival of CFU/femur, whereas, reduced doses of the two drugs as used in the MOPH regimen spared 30-45% of the CFU/femur. Survival of CFU after MOPH treatment was three to four times greater than after high doses of nitrogen mustard or procarbazine alone. The component drugs of the combined regimen did not act on separate populations of stem cells to produce an additive effect but appeared to inactivate the same population of cells.

Effect of therapeutic radiation on peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with carcinoma of the breast.

Effects of radiation therapy for carcinoma of the breast on responsiveness to mitogens of blood lymphocytes of patients at different clinical stages were analysed. Patients at different clinical stages had comparable numbers and responses of lymphocytes. During therapy the mean lymphocyte numbers decreased to 31 per cent of the pre-treatment value and mean responses to mitogens in whole-blood cultures decreased to 15 to 39 per cent of pre-treatment values. Similar decreases occurred whether or not mastectomy was performed.