Detection of tumour necrosis factor/cachectin in pleural effusion of patients with lung cancer

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Abstract
We have found that the pleural effusion obtained from a patient with lung cancer (adenocarcinoma) has cytotoxic activity against the patient's lung cancer cells. This finding occurred in the course of establishing a lung cancer cell line from the patient's pleural effusion. The cytotoxic factor was partially purified from the pleural effusion and characterized. It had cytotoxicity against L‐929 mouse fibroblasts in the standard 18‐h killing assay of tumour necrosis factor (TNF). By molecular sieving chromatography, the activity appeared at molecular weight of 50 000. This activity was completely blocked by a monoclonal antibody to TNF. From these results, we conclude that the cytotoxic factor in the pleural effusion is TNF. The concentration of TNF in the pleural effusion was 34.5 pg/ml by radioimmunoassay. In addition, we detected TNF activity and protein in two other cases of carcinomatous pleural effusion. Therefore, it would appear that in vivo TNF displays cytotoxic activity against cancer cells.