Effect of radiation on cell-mediated cytotoxicity and lymphocyte subpopulations in patients with ovarian carcinoma

Lymphocyte subpopulations and cell-mediated cytotoxicity (CMI) were studied during radiation therapy in 16 patients with ovarian carcinoma. The total lymphocyte count became depressed in all patients. The depression was more marked among T cells, while the proportion of B cells remained unaffected. In patients with Stage I and II ovarian cancer, CMI was depressed significantly by radiotherapy after 7 days of treatment, remained low at 14 days but recovered despite continuation of radiation. This depression of CMI occurred at a delivered dose of 1,000 rads with subsequent recovery. Patients with Stage III ovarian cancer given pelvic and abdominal radiation were found to have no consistent depression of CMI, a finding similar to that in Stage III ovarian carcinoma patients given chemotherapy.