Abstract
Thirteen patients with lung cancer and 62 age-matched control subjects were investigated in this study (68.5 +/- 2.7 y.o. and 70.5 +/- 1.1 y.o. respectively). The peripheral blood natural killer (NK) cell activity of patients with lung cancer and control subjects was 59.3 +/- 4.4% and 69.3 +/- 1.8%, respectively. The NK cell activity in these patients was significantly lower than the NK activity of control subjects (p less than 0.05). The Interleukin-2 (IL-2) productivity of stimulated peripheral lymphocytes from patients with lung cancer was 4.96 +/- 0.99 unit, and from control subjects was 12.31 +/- 1.51 unit. When compared with control subjects, the IL-2 productivity in the patients with lung cancer was significantly lower (p less than 0.05). There were no differences in values of OKT series or OKT4/OKT8 ratio between these patients and control subjects. Ten of the 13 patients received schizophyllan intramuscularly once a week (40 mg/week). The NK cell activity was significantly increased on the second day after the second injection of schizophyllan, but there was no change in IL-2 productivity. We conclude that the peripheral blood NK cell activity and IL-2 productivity of patients with lung cancer was decreased. The antitumor polysaccharide, schizophyllan, temporarily raised the NK cell activity of these patients.
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Schedule a callMore From: Nippon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi. Japanese Journal of Geriatrics
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