An attempt to generate an antitumor effect in the regional lymph nodes against endometrial cancer cells by inducing antitumor cytokines

Phytohemagglutinin-stimulated regional lymph node cells obtained from gynecological cancer patients exerted a significant antiproliferative activity against an endometrial cancer cell line, RL95-2 on a human tumor clonogenic assay, and released a high amount of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF α), and interferons. The activity was thought to be partly due to released TNF α, because RL95-2 was highly sensitive to recombinant TNF α. However, anti-TNF α failed to inhibit the activity, which indicated the probability of some as yet unclarified participation of cytokines. Therefore, the regional lymph nodes might be used as sites of endogenous cytokine therapy in endometrial cancer patients.