Immunoreactivity by intrinsic lymphoid cells in colorectal carcinoma.

Mononuclear leucocytes were separated by Hypaque--Ficoll from 60 unselected primary colorectal carcinomas, and then fractionated by rosetting with sheep erythrocytes, either alone (E) or coated with antibody and complement (EAC). The E-rosetting cells, putative T lymphocytes, were cytotoxic in vitro to autologous tumour cells in 18 of the 60 cases, whilst the EAC-rosetting cells were unreactive. This intrinsic T-lymphocyte anti-tumour immunoreactivity was significantly associated with the presence of "cuffs" of small dark lymphocytes at the mesocolic or pararectal edge of the primary tumours, but there was no correlation with antitumour cytotoxic lymphocytes in the patient's blood at the time of operation.