Dynamics of blood immunological parameters in patients with glial tumors of varying degrees of anaplasia

Abstract

The patients with glial tumors of varying degrees of anaplasia represent an imbalance in the composition of different subpopulations of immune cells, which leads to both specific immunosuppression and stimulation of the tumor process. For a comprehensive clinical assessment of the state of immunity in the blood, it is recommended to determine the ratio of the absolute level of immune cells, which integrally reflects the violation of certain indicators of innate and acquired immunity. Objective: To determine the relationship between the absolute number of lymphocytes, neutrophils, and platelets in the peripheral blood in glial tumors of varying degrees of anaplasia and at the stages of surgical treatment. Materials and methods. The case histories of 95 patients with glial tumors before surgery, on the 5 th –7 th day after surgery and before reoperation were studied. There were 71 patients initially operated for glial tumors of varying degrees of anaplasia, 40 patients with glioblastomas, 15 patients with anaplastic, and 16 patients with diffuse astrocytomas. Twenty-four patients were re-operated. The comparison group (control) consisted of 28 patients with non-cancerous diseases of the CNS. The age of patients with brain tumors and the comparison group ranged from 35 to 65 years. To analyze blood immunologic parameters, hematologic analyzer Mindray 3000 plus was used to identify the absolute number of platelets, neutrophils, and lymphocytes as well as the ratio index of the absolute number of neutrophils to the absolute number of lymphocytes (n/l), the absolute number of platelets to the absolute content of lymphocytes (p/l), the ratio of the absolute number of platelets to the absolute content of neutrophils (p/n). Results. In malignant glial tumors (glioblastomas and anaplastic astrocytomas), the level of n/l is significantly increased compared to the diffuse astrocytomas, the stimulation of neutrophil production and inhibition of lymphocyte formation are identified. On the 5 th –7 th days after surgery, there is no recovery of subpopulations of immune cells in the peripheral blood. The recurrences of glial tumors are accompanied by the imbalance in the structure of immune cells in peripheral blood that does not depend on the degree of tumors anaplasia. Conclusions. Determining the ratio of the absolute content of immune cells in the peripheral blood can serve as an informative indicator of the direction of disorders in congenital and acquired immune systems, which should be taken into account in the treatment of tumors.