Beta-glucuronidase-positive lymphocyte population with intact enzyme-positive lysosomes in patients with malignancies.

In 234 patients with various malignant diseases including cancer of the larynx, cancer of the lung, cancer of the stomach, cancer of large intestine as well as patients with Hodgkin's disease, plasma cell myeloma and precancerous states of the larynx, the count of peripheral blood lymphocytes showing intact beta-glucuronidase-positive lysosomes was determined using a semiquantitative histochemical method. All the patients studied, except patient with cancer of the lung, showed a tendency toward a low count of such cells significant in patients with precancerous states of the larynx, cancer of larynx, cancer of the larynx after radiotherapy and Hodgkin's disease and nonsignificant in cancer of the stomach, cancer of the large intestine and plasma cell myeloma. In patients with cancer of the lung the count of lymphocytes with intact beta-glucuronidase-positive lysosomes was significantly increased as compared with that in healthy subjects. The possible relationship between the low immune response in the patients and the functional state of the lymphocyte lysosomal system is discussed.