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Effect of Estrogen on Tumor-associated Immunity in Patients with Adenocarcinoma of the Prostate¹

Divisions of Immunology [R. J. A.] and Urology [R. A. B., P. D. G.], Cook County Hospital and the Hektoen Institute for Medical Research, Chicago, Illinois 60612

Tumor-associated antigen-induced leukocyte adherence inhibition has been used as an in vitro criterion for evaluating the effect of estrogen on cell-mediated antitumor-associated immunity in patients with adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Significant (p < 0.05) suppression from the reactivity obtained with untreated patients' leukocytes to allogeneic extracts of malignant prostatic tissue ranging from 19 to 80% was observed in all patients following preincubation of their leukocytes with diethylstilbesterol diphosphate. The observed suppression of tumor-associated immunity in the presence of exogenous estrogen provides further evidence to earlier studies that demonstrated estrogenic suppression of nonspecific cellular responsiveness as evaluated by phytohemagglutinin-induced lymphocytic blastogenesis of normal and prostatic cancer patients' lymphocytes and for the initially suggested concern over the efficacy of estrogenic therapy and its adverse effect on host cell-mediated immunological responsiveness.

¹ Supported in part by NIH General Research Support Grant RR05524-13 to the Hektoen Institute for Medical Research.

² To whom requests for reprints should be addressed, at Division of Immunology, Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Ill. 60612.

Received 2/ 9/78. Accepted 7/28/78.