[Hypereosinophilic reactions in cancer]

Hypereosinophilia may be seen in the blood or tissues of cancer patients. A part of lymphomas, the tumors more frequently involved in such eosinophilia, are digestive and respiratory tract carcinomas. The prevalence of cancer-associated eosinophilia is very variable among the different kind of tumors. These cancer-associated eosinophilia are the results of the secretion by tumor or inflammatory cells of interleukin-3 and -5 and GM-CSF. The anti-cancer properties of eosinophilic polymorphonuclear are poorly understood and the prognostic significance of cancer-associated blood or tissue eosinophilia has not been assessed by controlled studies.