Immunological Study on the Mechanism of Lymph Node Metstasis

Existence of lymph node metastasis is a risk factor in the prognosis of patients with cervical cancer. But the mechanism of lymph node metastasis and its control factor are not clear. This study was implemented to elucidate this mechanism based on animal experiments. Mouse hepatoma cell (MH 134) was used as the material for Tumor Extract (TE), which was prepared by ultrasonication. After pretreatment with TE at various concentrations and various durations on the left footpads of mice, inoculation of tumor cells was performed at the same site. Regional lymph nodes from this site were obtained after various durations and the rate of lymph node metastasis was histologically observed. Immunocapacity of lymph node cells due to various mitogens were also measured after pretreatment with TE. As a result, pretreatment with TE effected a decrease in immunocapacity of the lymph node cells, especially the T-cells. On the other hand, pretreatment with TE also brought about an increase in the rate of lymph node metastasis. In conclusion it can be said that the soluble substance derived from the cancer mass decreased the immunocapacity of regional lymph nodes. Therefore, lymph node metastasis was considered to have been effected.