Predominant rearrangements of the T cell receptor beta-chain gene in blood lymphocyte populations stimulated with autologous tumor cells suggest clonal T cell expansion in two of fourteen cases.

T cell responses against autologous tumors with samples from patients with a variety of tumors were examined. The abilities of T lymphocytes to lyse the autologous tumor cells were analyzed after short-term mixed lymphocyte/tumor cell cultures (MLTC). Southern blot analysis was used to evaluate whether particular rearrangements of the TCR beta-chain gene predominate in these cultures. Tumor specific lysis could be induced in a proportion of the mixed cultures. In two cases enrichment of T lymphocytes with similar TCR beta-chain gene rearrangements was detected after repeated stimulations with autologous tumor cells.