Blood transfusions and survival after lung cancer resection

The immunosuppressive effects of blood transfusions in renal transplantation patients are now well documented. The question arises as to whether the possible immunosuppressive effects of blood transfusions in cancer patients cause a more favorable host environment for tumor growth. One hundred fifty-five patients undergoing resection for lung carcinoma were analyzed retrospectively, and it was shown that the use of blood transfusions was associated with a significant decrease in survival time in patients undergoing curative resection of lung carcinoma despite multivariate adjustments for age, sex, cell type, right lung versus left lung location, type of operation, and stage. This association supports, but does not prove, the hypothesis that blood transfusions, possibly through an immunosuppressive mechanism, are responsible for a poorer prognosis in patients who undergo resection for carcinoma of the lung.