Interleukin-2 release from lymphocytes of patients with head and neck cancer

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) plays a central role in cellular immune regulation. In vitro this cytokine is secreted after mitogenic stimulation with phorbolester (PMA), phytohemagglutinin A (PHA), or the monoclonal T cell antibody OKT3. In our experiments the IL-2 concentration was measured in a biologic system using an IL-2-dependent murine cytotoxic T cell line. Control subjects who were age-matched to patients with head and neck cancers did not show an altered IL-2 production in vitro, irrespective of whether they were accustomed to high alcohol consumption or cigarette smoking. Patients with cancer of the larynx did not differ significantly from control subjects. Most prominent was the significant reduction in IL-2 release of patients with cancer of the oropharynx and in patients with positive lymph nodes in the neck. Impaired IL-2 secretion in head and neck cancer patients may therefore be an additional prognostic indicator worthy of further investigation.