IMMUNE PARAMETERS IN PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER AFTER RADIOTHERAPY AND SURGICAL TREATMENT

Abstract

Abstract. Some immune parameters (cell subsets in peripheral blood, spontaneous and LPS-induce production of IL-1β, IL-5, IL-7, IL-12, IL-13, IL-17, G-CSF, MCP-1 and MIP-1β in whole blood cultures) were studied in fifty patients with breast cancer (T2-3, N0-3, M0) after radiation therapy and surgical treatment. A significant decrease in lymphocytes, CD3+ and CD4+T-cell counts, CD19+B-lymphocytes, erythrocytes, hemoglobin level, and amounts of phagocytic cells was revealed. The cytokine status was characterized by prevalence of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-12, IL-17) and chemokines (MCP-1, MIP-1β), accompanied by low levels of Th2/ anti-inflammatory IL-13. Furthermore, a markedly increased production of G-CSF and IL-7 was found, thus apparently pointing to the switching of a compensatory mechanisms in response to cytoreductive effects of anti-tumor therapy. IL-7 levels in lymphopenic patients (< 1.2 х 109/L; a mean of 0.81±0.11) were significantly higher than that in an opposite group of lymphopenia-free women (> 1.2 х 109/L; a mean of 1.34±0.01). An inverse correlation (rS = –0,88; p < 0,0001) between blood lymphocyte counts and IL-7 levels allows us to suggest a mechanism of homeostatic peripheral expansion (HPE) to be involved in maintenance and restoration ofT cell homeostasis in the patients treated for breast cancer. Significance of HPE mechanism for induction of both beneficial protective tumor-specific autoimmunity and increased risk of autoimmune complications is discussed.

Keywords

• breast cancer
• cytokines
• il-7
• lymphopenia