Aging and Cancerigenesis. I. Immunity to Tumor and Skin Grafts2

Abstract
An investigation involving the relationship of aging to cancerigenesis disclosed an impaired immune response in untreated, aging, randombred Swiss mice. The incidence of this abnormal immune reactivity increased with age, as did cumulative spontaneous tumor incidence. A xenogeneic graft (human tumor H.Ep.#3) grew in old but not in young adult female mice, and skin grafts survived significantly longer in similar old females, some to death of the host. A possible interrelationship between aging, immunity, and cancerigenesis is discussed.