Postoperative immunologic monitoring of cancer patients undergoing radical surgery

Immunologic parameters of cellular immunity in vitro and circulating immunoglobulin levels were evaluated before and after radical surgery in twenty-five patients with localized primary solid tumors. Peripheral blood lymphocyte counts, T-lymphocyte counts and lymphocyte blastogenesis after optimal stimulation with phytohemagglutinin were found significantly depressed at the time of diagnosis. Sequential determinations of immunologic parameters during the postoperative period showed a slight fall of lymphocyte counts and T-lymphocyte counts; subsequently these cell counts progressively returned to preoperative values. The blastogenic response of lymphocytes sharply decreased following surgery and then slowly returned to preoperative levels in one month. No significant alterations of circulating immunoglobulins were detected at diagnosis or during the postoperative period. These findings indicate that patients with localized tumors present impairment of some parameters of cellular immunity preoperatively and that postoperative immunodepression lasts about one month.