Immune response to urinary bladder tumours in man

Abstract A microassay in disposable tissue culture plates was used to demonstrate a cell‐mediated immune response against human urinary bladder carcinoma. Leukocytes isolated from peripheral blood of patients with urinary bladder tumours were allowed to react in vitro with cells of bladder tumours, or with a control tumour or normal cells. Both autochthonous and allogeneic leukocytes from patients with bladder tumours strongly reduced the number of plated bladder tumour cells as compared to control leukocytes, but did not affect control tumour or normal cells. No significant cytotoxic effects were produced by control leukocyte suspensions from a patient with prostatic carcinoma, from patients with non‐neoplastic diseases or from normal healthy individuals. The results indicate that human urinary bladder tumours possess tumour‐specific antigens which cross‐react with each other.