[In vivo evaluation of cellular immunity in melanoma patients against melanoma].

Evaluation of cellular immunity against human melanoma was performed in an in vivo model using Balb/c nude mice bearing the human melanoma. Intraperitoneal injection of 1 X 10(7) melanoma cells produced peritonitis carcinomatosa which lead to death of the mice at 23.8 +/- 2.6 days (N = 12). Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from healthy donors and the melanoma cells cultured on the back of the nude mouse were given to nude mice intraperitoneally, and survival times of 22.0 +/- 2.3 days were observed (N = 8). PBL from four of the five healthy donors which have been presensitized on monolayers of the melanoma tissue culture cells in flask failed to prolong host survival times. In contrast, PBL from 15 of 20 melanoma patients were found to prolong the survival of the tumor bearing nude mice. Of these 15 patients, 8 were treated with specific active immunotherapy, but 7 had not been sensitized except by the disease process. The ability of PBL from patients to prolong survival of the melanoma bearing nude mice did not seem to correlate with either the stage of the disease or the clinical course. The possible mechanisms for the prolonged survival and the usefulness of this in vivo model were discussed.

Duke Scholars

Author Hilliard Foster Seigler Surgical Oncology