title: Anticipatory immune changes in women treated with chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.
abstract: Immune parameters were assessed in 22 women before chemotherapy for ovarian cancer and compared with assessment made at home 2 days earlier. In the hospital, as compared to home measures, patients had a lower percentage of lymphocytes and monocytes and a higher percentage of granulocytes. Absolute numbers of lymphocytes were lower at the hospital as compared to at home. T-cell proliferative responses to concanavalin A were elevated for cells isolated from hospital blood samples as compared to home samples. The observed changes in immune parameters were not related to levels o r state anxiety at home or at the hospital. The results show anticipatory immune changes in a group of patients receiving chemotherapy that did not include cyclophosphamide.
authors.affiliation: Department or Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lekander
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Fürst
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rotstein
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Blomgren
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fredrikson