MITOGEN-INDUCED LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE RESPONSE AND PHAGOCYTIC-ACTIVITY OF MONOCYTES IN RENAL-CELL CARCINOMA PATIENTS TREATED BY INTERFERON A ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH VINBLASTINE

The functions of T cells and monocytes were studied in relation to the clinical stage and clinical course of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients, treated by interferon alpha (LFN-alpha). Lymphoproliferative response (LPR) to phytohemagglutinin and phagocytic activity of peripheral blood monocytes were estimated before, immediately after, and six months after completion of therapy with IFN-alpha alone (applied in stage II RCC) or in combination with vinblastine (in stages III and IV). The number of total T cells and their mitogen-induced proliferative response were diminished in all patient groups before therapy, the decrease of LPR being more pronounced in advanced (III and IV) stages of the disease. The pretreatment number of monocytes and their phagocytic activity were increased in RCC patients regardless of clinical stage. The initial level of the lymphocyte and monocyte functions did not correlate with the clinical course of the disease. The pretreatment levels of LPR and phagocytic activity were not changed immediately after IFN treatment, irrespective of the clinical response to therapy. Similar results were obtained six months after therapy; the only exception was the increased LPR in stage III patients, which was unrelated to clinical response to the therapy, since it was seen in patients with progression of the disease. These findings suggest that the pretreatment level of LPR and monocyte phagocytic activity in RCC patients in different clinical stages of RCC were not predictive of the clinical response to IFN therapy. IFN-alpha, as used in this study, had no major influence on LPR and phagocytic activity of monocytes irrespective of the clinical stage or clinical course of the disease.