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HOST RESISTANCE TO CANCER*
Author(s) -
Goldstein G.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.111
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 0004-8682
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.1967.tb05527.x
Subject(s) - antigen , cancer , immunology , medicine , immune system , immunity , in vivo , host resistance , in vitro , cancer research , biology , genetics
Summary 1. Experimental studies on immunity to tumours in animals show that tumour growth is modified by an immunological reaction provided that the immunological system of the host is intact and the tumour carries antigens which are different to those of the host and therefore recognizably “foreign.” 2. Human cancers show deletions of normal antigens and also contain new antigens. Human patients with cancer may show reactivity in vitro against their own tumours, and immunological reactivity in vivo is evidenced by infiltration with lymphocytic and plasma cells; this is associated with a slower growth for certain human tumours. 3. Human patients with cancer have a general impairment of immunological reactivity and it is suggested that this permits the emergence of cancer. 4. The thymus plays an important role in regulating the development and maintenance of immunological reactivity. The declining size of the thymus with age was correlated with the rising cancer incidence with age. Declining thymic activity may lead to impaired immunological function and this may allow the development of human cancer.