title: Circadian rhythms of cytotoxic activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with malignant melanoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study circadian rhythms (CR) of cytotoxic activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with malignant melanoma were compared with those in healthy men.
  
  
  METHODS
  The NK-cell and phagocyte cytotoxic activity in five patients with malignant melanoma stage I or II and 12 healthy donors has been assessed by radioimmune assay and NBT-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The circadian rhythmicity in NK-cells and phagocyte activity in all cancer patients under study has been disrupted. The extent of such disruption tended to increase in patients with more advanced cancer. The most typical alterations were discoordination between the cytotoxicity rhythms of NK-cells and phagocytes (synchronized in healthy persons) and alterations in basic rhythm parameters: phase shifts and amplitude damping.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In melanoma patients the significant alteration of CR in NK-cells and phagocytes cytotoxic activity was revealed. In spite of individual variations, the degree of the rhythm disruption basically depended on a disease stage. The alteration of CR phase and amplitude and discoordination between the rhythms of NK-cells and phagocyte were registered in all cases studied.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv.
authors.forename: N F
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: Gamaleia
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Skivka
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fedorchuk
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Shishko
mesh_terms: D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000502:physiology*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010586:Phagocytes / Q000276:immunology; D012016:Reference Values