[Influence of intravenous chemotherapy on cellular immunity in patients with advanced digestive tract cancer].
OBJECTIVE
Cancer patients have a poor immune response and chemotherapy could deteriorate their immune system further. Reasonable immune therapy is an important adjuvant remedy for tumors. This study was to monitor the changes of T-cell phenotypes in peripheral blood and interleukin-2 (IL-2) concentration in plasma in digestive tract cancer patients before and after chemotherapy.


METHODS
The proportions of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+CD28+, CD8+CD28+ and CD4+CD25+ T cells in peripheral blood of 104 patients with advanced digestive tract cancer, hospitalized from Sep. 2005 to Apr. 2006, were detected by flow cytometry (FCM). The concentration of IL-2 in plasma was measured by ELISA.


RESULTS
The proportions of CD4+, CD4+CD28+, CD8+CD28+, CD4+CD25+ T cells and ratio of CD4/CD8 were (36.52+/-3.85)%, (32.87+/-4.98)%, (6.87+/-3.11)%, (9.68+/-3.42)% and 0.98+/-0.17 in digestive tract cancer patients, and (45.23+/-9.20)%, (40.12+/-5.85)%, (15.8+/-4.50)%, (5.67+/-2.90)% and 1.43+/-0.12 in healthy subjects. In the patients with response to chemotherapy, the proportions of CD4+CD28+ and CD8+CD28+ T cells and ratio of CD4/CD8 were (22.93+/-3.98)%, (7.08+/-1.23)% and 0.90+/-0.22 before chemotherapy, and (28.25+/-4.03)%, (12.10+/-3.45)% and 1.24+/-0.22 at 3 weeks after chemotherapy. In the patients with no response to chemotherapy, the proportions of CD4+CD28+, CD8+CD28+ and CD4+CD25+ T cells were (24.08+/-4.02)%, (6.35+/-1.23)% and (8.20+/-2.34)% before chemotherapy, and (16.45+/-3.27)%, (3.20+/-0.82)% and (20.34+/-3.69)% at 3 weeks after chemotherapy.


CONCLUSIONS
The immunosuppression of digestive tract cancer patients would be enhanced early (about 1-2 weeks) after intravenous chemotherapy. The immunity of the patients with response to chemotherapy would be improved at 3 weeks after chemotherapy; while the immunity of the patients with no response to chemotherapy would not change, or even be suppressed.
Xu
Hong
H
Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215006, PR China. xuhong55555@yahoo.com.cn
Mao
Yi-Xiang
YX
Zhang
Xue-Guang
XG
Wang
Qing-Cai
QC
D000368:Aged; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000032:analysis; D004067:Digestive System Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology
D017252:CD3 Complex; D007376:Interleukin-2