title: Impaired cytokine production in whole blood cell cultures of patients with gynaecological carcinomas in different clinical stages.
abstract: The production of the cytokines IFN-gamma, IL-1-alpha, IL-2 and TNF-alpha was investigated in mitogen-stimulated, whole blood cell culture from 239 untreated patients with primary gynaecological carcinomas (breast, cervix, ovary, endometrium), and 191 healthy female controls. The cytokines were measured in the 4-day post-induction supernatants by a sensitive enzymoimmunological assay. In the blood cell cultures of all four groups of cancer patients, significantly lower values of IFN-gamma (P < or = 0.001), IL-2 (P < or = 0.01) and IL-1 alpha (P < or = 0.01) were found as compared to the controls, although lymphocyte and monocyte counts were almost identical. Grouping the tumour patients into different clinical stages we could show in the four groups of carcinomas a gradual depression of the cytokine production according to growing tumour burden.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunobiology, Medical Faculty, University of Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Elsässer-Beile
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: von Kleist
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sauther
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gallati
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Mönting
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001773:Blood Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood; D016889:Endometrial Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology; D011043:Pokeweed Mitogens / Q000494:pharmacology; D012016:Reference Values; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007375:Interleukin-1; D007376:Interleukin-2; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D011043:Pokeweed Mitogens; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D007371:Interferon-gamma