THE USE OF A LEUKOCYTE CELL LINE CULTURE SUPERNATANT FOR SKIN REACTION TESTING IN MALIGNANT MELANOMA

A study was conducted to determine some of the potential applications of a human leukocyte culture supernatant or “lymphokine” preparation in cancer patients. The application evaluated in this study was the use of this preparation as a skin test reagent for evaluation of the inflammatory response following intradermal injection. The preparation was derived from the supernatant of a long-term cultured lymphoblastoid cell line with migration inhibition factor (MIF) and other lymphokine activities. Dose response, histology and toxicity studies were done in 53 patients with malignant melanoma stage IIIB and IV. A dose response curve was observed for both erythema and induration at 12 and 24 hours, but not at 48 hours. An optimal intradermal dose for eliciting inflammation was determined and found to be five units. Histopathological evaluation of biopsy specimens showed a mixed cell reaction including granulocytes, eosinophils, lymphocytes and monocytes differing in lymphocyte content from the classical delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction in man. Compared with the response to recall antigens, only a weak correlation with the DTH response to the recall antigens was found. Our results support the conclusion that lymphokines may be used in the future to evaluate the ability to develop nonspecific inflammation in cancer patients, and that this inflammatory response can be obtained in a number of patients no longer capable of responding to recall antigens.