Relations between Immunity and Malignancy

Abstract

A higher incidence of malignancy as well as greater susceptibility to infection has been found to be associated with primary immunodeficiencies. An increased incidence of leukemia has been associated with X-linked infantile agammaglobulinemia-an isolated defect of humoral immunities. An increased frequency of a wide variety of malignancies have been found to accompany several different forms of primary immunodeficiency. Secondary immunodeficiencies produced by immunosuppressant therapy to facilitate renal transplantation have also been found to have far too much cancer to be explained by chance assocaition. Many experimental associations between immunity and malignancy have also been encountered, indicating that these two adaptive processes have an essential relationship that must be elucidated.

B Lymphocytes in Untreated Patients with Malignant Lymphoma and Hodgkin's Disease

“…Independent and also cooperative roles for B and T cells in the immune response were postulated some time ago (6)(7)(8) and have now been confirmed (9)(10). Immunologic mechanisms of defense against infections and neoplasms appear to depend on the function of these two populations of lymphocytes (11)(12)(13). The B or T origins of chronic and acute lymphocytic leukemia and the B and T cells in primary immunodeficiency diseases have been studied rather extensively (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24).…”

Clinical Studies on Cell‐Mediated Immunity in Gestational Trophoblastic Disease: Nonspecific Cellular Immunocompetence in Patients with Hydatid Mole and Trophoblastic Neoplasia

“…The importance of cell-mediated immune responses in the host defense against malignant tumors has been well documented (6,12). Although there is an increased incidence of GTD in Japan, evaluation of its immunological aspects has lagged behind that of other neoplasms.…”

Chronic exposure to anaesthetics: A toxicity problem?

“…On the basis of effective immunosuppressive therapy in man 47 and experiments indicating that immunosuppression in animals aids the experimental induction of malignancy by carcinogenis chemicals are also immunosuppressives if given in appropriate dosages, interference with immune mechanisms by anaesthetics would be expected to influence the cause of tumour development. 4~…”