Part of the blood samples collected during group medical examinations might possibly be used as tumor markers a in preliminary screening for cancer. However, at the present, it would be too hasty a conclusion that the tumor markers in the blood samples are definitely effective in terms of practicality. There is much more probing yet to be done.
To begin with, the authors think it necessary to examine the normal values and basal ranges of tumor markers currently available and compare them with clinical values according to the types of cancer.
In this report, the five tumor markers (CEA, AFP, Ferritin, SCC and CA19-9) are dealt with. All these markers are undergoing clinical testing on patients in our hospital. The results so far obtained showed that each marker has its own characteristics. CEA has proved to be helpful in making the diagnosis of advanced colo-rectal carcinoma; AEP is useful for liver cancer; Ferritin, liver and lung cancers; SCC, squamous cell, carcinoma; CA19-9, cancer of the pancreas. However, to be noted is the fact that the cancer specificity of these markers are not alway high. Therefore, due caution should be exercised in the use of any one of the markers for cancer screening.
In the light of the fact that a combination assay of AFP and Ferritin is effective in diagnosis of primary hepatocellular carcinoma, combinations of dif-ferent markers are worth studying. Furthermore, the finding of blood tests and urianalyses should be checked against the measurements of markers. These efforts will certainly open up a new vista for more effective imple mentation of group cancer screening programs

Using various types of monoclonal antibodies and flow cytometer, whole blood analysis were conducted on subsets of lymphocytes taken from peripheral blood samples of healthy persons and umbilical cord blood samples of mature babies.
The findings were as follows:
(1) Normal values of healthy persons (Mean ± SD) were: T-cell phenotypes-OKT3⁺: 66.2 ± 9.4%, OKT4⁺: 40.9±8.3%, OKT8⁺: 28.2±6.6%, OKT11⁺: 80.1±4.8%, OKT4/OKT8 ratio: 1.57±0.60; B-cell phenotype-SmIg (polyvalent) ⁺: 15.9±6.5%; others-OKTal⁺: 12.9±3.2%, Leu7⁺: 16.2±8.9%.
(2) Of the healthy persons, 17% showed 1.0 or below and 6.5% showed 2.5 or above, in the OKT4/OKT8 ratio.
(3) The OKT4+ OKT8/OKT3 ratio was significantly high (P<0.001) in the babies and persons of 40 years and over.
(4) Physiologic variations were noted in some degree in children and the aged, and between men and women. The individual values of the lymphocyte subsets were almost constant, but the difference between individuals was large. It is suggested that the difference of the immune response of each individual or each family partly depends on the different values of the lymphocyte subsets.

A study was made on and-ATLA antibody among general inhabitants, those with hematologic disease and those with hepatic disease in Nagano Prefecture.
Among 2, 299 inhabitants (990 males and 1, 309 females), anti-ATLA antibody was found to be positive in two males (0.1 %)
The number of patients with hematologic disease was 155. Of them, malignant lymphoma accounted for 50 (T: 24.3 %, B: 37.8 %), acute leukemia 32 and other hematologic malignancy 28. No ATL was found among them. It was revealed that 56 of them underwent transfusion ranging from 2 to 346 units of blood, averaging at 49.7 units. The number of person whose anti-ATLA antibody was positive was one only, who was diagnosed as AML and was transfused 170 units.
Of 42 patients with hepatic disease, HB virus-related liver disease (hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma) accounted for 10, non-B group HBAg (-) for 18, alcoholic liver dysfunction 5 and other hepatic disorders 9. Three out of these 42 patients were found to be positive for anti-ATLA antibody, each three patients belonged to the “non-B” group (3/18, 16.6 %).
The total number of positivist was thus six. Of them, five had a history of transfusion, and all five positivists excluding the one with AML were suffering from hepatic disease with HBAg (-).
From the above, it was considered that in Nagano Prefecture, those whose anti-ATLA antibody was positive were conspicuously small in number, but main cause of the positivity was attributable to the transfusion. Most of the positivists were suffered from non-B hepatic disease with a history of transfusion, and the number of positivist was significantly greater even when compared with patients with hematologic disease with frequent transfusion. Accordingly, it is suggested that some of the hepatic diseases with HBAg (-) might be associated with HTLV.