GRANULOCYTE-MACROPHAGE COLONY-STIMULATING FACTOR AUGMENTS LYMPHOKINE-ACTIVATED KILLER ACTIVITY FROM PLEURAL CAVITY MONONUCLEAR-CELLS OF LUNG-CANCER PATIENTS WITHOUT MALIGNANT EFFUSION

The role of recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating fact or (GM-CSF) in augmentation of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell induction by interleukin-2 (IL-2) from pleural cavity mononuclear cell s (PCMNCs) was examined in sixteen patients with resectable primary lu ng cancer not associated with malignant effusion. None of the patients had received any anticancer therapy prior to this study. Incubation o f PCMNCs of patients without malignant effusion with GM-CSF for 4 days in the presence of IL-2 resulted in a significant increase in LAK act ivity against natural killer-resistant Daudi cells. This result was ob tained by using the 4 h Cr-51-release assay. PCMNCs and blood mononucl ear cells (BMNCs) were harvested simultaneously from pleural cavity la vage fluid and peripheral blood in lung cancer patients. The LAK activ ity developed from PCMNCs and BMNCs following incubation with IL-2 for 4 days, but the LAK activity from PCMNCs was significantly lower than that from BMNCs (P<0.05). Incubation of PCMNCs with GM-CSF augmented the LAK activity from PCMNCs to a level as high as that from BMNCs. Th ese results suggest that the combined use of GM-CSF with IL-2 may resu lt in augmentation of LAK activity developed from PCMNCs of lung cance r patients without malignant effusion.