Interferon-inhibiting activities in sera of patients with lung cancer.
A differential pattern of sera exhibiting interferon-inhibiting activity in cases of histologically confirmed lung cancer patients have been observed. The sera distribution was dependent on the clinical entity and the cell line specificity used measuring IFN-inhibition. Although either small cell lung cancer (SCLC) or non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) sera exhibiting in a high percentage (80 and 75% respectively) such an activity, in any of the 3 lines tested, the ratio of sera exerting inhibition in each cell line was different. Such cell specific systems could be of prognostic/predicting value for effective therapeutic schedules of specific clinical entities.