[The phagocytic activity of monocytes in different stages of breast cancer]

Defective monocyte function has been associated with a variety of human malignancies. However, the diagnostic and/or prognostic significance of this disturbance remains unclear.

The number of leukocytes, proportion and absolute number of granulocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes, and monocyte phagocytic function were determined in a group of 30 patients with invasive ductal breast cancers. Cancer patients were divided into 3 groups on the basis of clinical stage of the disease: group A--patients with localized disease; group B--patients with regional lymph node metastases; group C--patients with distant metastases. The control group consisted of 10 age-matched healthy women.

This study demonstrates that patients with breast cancer have a significant decrease in the absolute number of monocytes and phagocytic activity. Moreover, compared to healthy individuals, the absolute number of monocytes decreases in cancer patients, reaching the lowest value in patients with distant metastases (group C). Similarly, phagocytic activity of peripheral blood monocytes was significantly lower in patients with tumors. Index of phagocytosis showed a two-fold, and capacity of phagocytosis a seven-fold decrease in advanced-stage patients (C).

The phagocytic activity reveals the dynamics of the host tumor interface. This method is used alone or combined with other methods as an indicator of the extent or activity of the disease. We conclude that monocyte phagocytic function can be used as an additional prognostic factor in breast cancer monitoring.