These findings suggest that significant titers of IL-1beta are present within the microenvironment of most breast carcinomas and that a high IL-1beta content is often associated with tumor invasiveness and with other pathologic features suggestive of an aggressive tumor biology.

SF and c-met are overexpressed in breast carcinoma as compared with benign breast tissue, and they tend to be coexpressed in cancerous tissue. These findings are consistent with the idea that the SF:c-met ligand:receptor pair may have a role in breast carcinoma progression.

IntroductionMore than 125 000 allogeneic and syngeneic hematopoietic cell transplantations (HCTs) have been performed worldwide for hematologic malignancies, aplastic anemia, and inborn errors of hematolymphopoietic cells. [1][2][3] Immunodeficiency follows HCT and lasts for more than 1 year. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Because HCT only came into general practice in the 1980s, there has been, up until now, no opportunity to observe the immunity of very long-term survivors. There are conflicting views about what might happen to the immunity of these patients. On the one hand, infection rates as well as laboratory parameters of immunity like CD4 T-cell counts gradually improve in the first 5 years after transplantation (reviewed in Parkman and Weinberg 4 and Storek and Witherspoon 5 ). Thus, by 20 years, one might expect relatively complete recovery. On the other hand, there is the possibility that the replicative potential of the transplanted immune cells and/or their precursors might be limited. 12 This possibility could result in late onset immune deficiency. We have undertaken a study of a unique cohort of patients, the first group surviving 20 to 30 years after transplantation. We have asked the following questions: (1) What are the counts of immune cells in this group of patients? CD4 T cells were of particular interest because low CD4 T-cell counts have been associated with high rates of postengraftment infections and because the duration of CD4 T lymphocytopenia in adult marrow transplant recipients is not known (CD4 T-cell counts remain low for at least 5 years after transplantation). 13-15 (2) What are the counts of T cells generated de novo (from hematolymphopoietic cells)? This question is important because concerns have been raised that the grafted hematolymphopoietic cells or the host thymus cannot sustain de novo T lymphopoiesis for more than 14 years after transplantation. 12 (3) What are the levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)G 2 and IgG against the capsular polysaccharides of commonly encountered encapsulated bacteria? Low levels have been associated with infections in HCT recipients, and the duration of this selective immunoglobulin deficiency is not known (levels remain low for at least 2 to 5 years after transplantation). [16][17][18][19][20] (4) How frequently do the very late survivors develop infections? Infections, the incidence of which is the most clinically relevant measure of immunity, have been described to cause significant morbidity and mortality even between 2 and 16 years after transplantation. 21,22 Patients, materials, and methods PatientsOf 389 patients undergoing allogeneic (361) or syngeneic (28) bone marrow grafting in Seattle before January 1, 1978, 72 patients survived for Reprints: Jan Storek, FHCRC, D1-100, 1100 Fairview Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109-1024; e-mail: jstorek@fhcrc.org.The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. Therefore, and solely to indicate this fact, this article is hereby marked ''advertisement'' in accordance with 18 U.S...