Role of Immune Complexes in Tumor Associated Immunity of Patients with Prostatic Cancer

Abstract

Abstract Elevated levels of circulating immune complexes (CIC) were detected in the sera of patients with cancer of the prostate (CaP). Further studies to evaluate the effect of therapy on CIC indicate an increase in post therapy levels of CIC in patients who received hormonal therapy as compared to those who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) or bilateral orchiectomy (ORCH). Our preliminary findings to determine if CIC were the result of patient's humoral response to tumor associated antigen (TAA) and to evaluate if CIC were playing any role in patient's tumor associated immunity (TAI), indicate that CIC are complexed, at least in part, to prostate specific antigen (PSA) and that a correlation between the level of CIC and its potential of arming control leukocytes, may reflect the degree of patient's in vivo sensitization to tumor and status of his TAI, suggesting that CIC may be playing an important role in tumor-host relationship.