Correlation Between Serum Alpha-Globulin and Plasma Inhibitory Effect on PHA-Stimulated Lymphocytes in Colon Cancer Patients

Abstract

The effects of plasma from 15 normal individuals and 15 early colon cancer patients on PHA-stimulated lymphocytes were studied by testing on lymphocytes from a single donor in the same experiment to permit statistical analysis. As a group there was no difference between normal individuals and cancer patients. However, the plasma inhibitory effect tended to be more pronounced in patients with higher serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels which had been found to be higher in advanced stages of cancer. This probably indicates that the plasma inhibitory factor is present in increased amount in later stages of cancer but not in the early stages. A positive correlation was also found between plasma inhibitory effect and serum a-globulin level and between serum levels of a-globulin and carcinoembryonic antigen.