Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity mediated by K cells against chicken erythrocytes was measured in 113 patients with malignant lymphoreticular disorders and compared with 230 controls. The results were expressed as the specific cytotoxicity of a fixed number of cells and also by cytotoxic capacity, which measures the number of cytolytic units in 1 ml of blood. The values for cytotoxic capacity were normal in the group of untreated patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, multiple myeloma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia and in most of the patients with Hodgkin's disease or acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, decreased specific cytotoxicity was observed in these same lymphoid leukemia patients, which may be due to dilution of effector cells. The effect of chemotherapy in reducing K-cell activity is more evident in patients with multiple myeloma, followed by patients with Hodgkin's disease, and finally by patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. No case of K-cell neoplastic disease was observed in this series.
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