T-Lymphocyte Subsets in Smoking and Lung Cancer

In order to determine whether abnormalities of immunoregulatory T-cells occur in patients with lung cancer, we characterized peripheral T-lymphocytes in 26 patients with untreated lung cancer. The results in patients with primary squamous cancer (SC) (n = 10), primary adenocarcinoma (AC) (n = 7), and secondary lung metastases (M) (n = 9) were compared with each other and to subjects without cancer (n = 48), including nonsmokers (n = 29) and smokers (n = 19). We found that OKT3+ (mature, peripheral) T-lymphocytes, including both OKT4+ (inducer/helper) and OKT8+ (cytotoxic/suppressor) lymphocytes, were increased in light-to-moderate smokers, but that OKT4+ cells were decreased in heavy smokers (p < 0.05). The ratio of OKT4+ to OKT8+ (4/8) lymphocytes, reflecting the balance of immunoregulatory cells, was normal in light-to-moderate smokers, but was decreased in heavy smokers (p < 0.05). The profile of circulating T-cells in patients with SC was similar to the smokers. In contrast, in patients with AC, we fo...