In vivo and in vitro assays of immunocompetence in bronchogenic carcinoma.

To determine the degree of correlation among the various in vivo and in vitro assays that could be used to assess immunocompetence in bronchogenic carcinoma, the response to common recall skin antigens, primary sensitization to DNCB and lymphocyte function tests based on blastogenic response to mitogens and in mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) were tested in 48 patients with bronchogenic carcinoma. The values were compared to responses in 94 age-matched healthy control subjects. There were impaired skin tests reactions among squamous cell carcinoma patients, with little impairment of their lymphocyte blastogenesis reactions. Anaplastic carcinoma patients had notable defects in lymphocyte function tests but less impairment of the skin test reactions. These data suggest that the mitogen concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, and the MLC are more useful screening assays of in vitro immunocompetence than are the other commonly used mitogens.