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R. Jack Eastham, III, MD; James M. Mason, PhD; Billy Ray Jennings, PhD; Patricia W. Belew; Thomas A. Maguda, MD

Arch Otolaryngol. 1976;102(3):171-175.

Abstract
• The percentage of total T-lymphocytes was measured in 38 patients with histologically diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. This measure of cellular immunity, which appears to be important in tumor-cell destruction, is demonstrably lowered in advanced stages of this disease. With the use of this test, the effect of a combined chemoimmunotherapeutic regimen consisting of methotrexate sodium, isoniazid, and BCG vaccine was studied. In this small series, no decrease of the T-cell count following treatment by methotrexate was demonstrated, except when a high dosage followed by leucovorin calcium was used. The BCG vaccine appeared to enhance T-cell counts, and one patient who was treated with cryosurgery had a dramatic increase in circulating T-lymphocytes. The T-cell test may be of clinical importance in the development of treatment sequences that provide maximum reduction of tumor cell mass while preserving host T cells.

(Arch Otolaryngol 102:171-175, 1976)

Author Affiliations
From the departments of otolaryngology (Drs Eastham and Maguda) and pathology (Drs Mason and Jennings and Ms Belew), University of Tennessee, Center for Health Sciences, Memphis.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication Nov 17, 1975.

Reprint requests to Department of Pathology, University of Tennessee, Center for Health Sciences, 858 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN 38163 (Dr Mason).

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