An analysis of lymphocyte subpopulations was done in patients with cancer of the uterine cervix before and at different intervals after the commencement of radiation therapy. A common feature was a duration of T-cell and B-cell lymphopenia after therapy. The findings relating to the T-cell subsets were interesting. Although the CD4/CD8 ratio remained unchanged in Stages I/IIA for 24 months after treatment, patients with Stages IIB and III showed a lowering of the ratio immediately after treatment. Distinctive patterns of lymphocyte subset distribution were seen in a comparison between patients who were disease-free and those with recurrent disease. The CD4+ cell counts and CD4/CD8 ratio differed between the two groups, with consistent lowered values during the follow-up associated with recurrent disease. This study demonstrates the effects of radiation therapy in altering lymphocyte subset distribution, resulting in characteristic patterns which could be used as clinical and prognostic indicators.