On the immunopharmacology of cancer chemotherapeutics

This paper discusses a number of aspects having possible clinical relevance regarding the immunopharmacology of the chemical agents commonly employed in anticancer treatment. After describing results obtained examining the effects exerted by such drugs on cells such as NK, macrophages and suppressor elements, the following conclusions are discussed: a) that cancer chemotherapeutics even when having similar modes of cytotoxic action and possessing close structural analogies, can markedly vary in their immunological activity; b) that immunocytes exhibit an at least operational hierarchy in their sensitivity to the effect of a given drug. Experimental data on the possibility that anticancer chemicals may differentially affect given types of immune cell when present in various anatomical districts are also presented. Examples of the possible practical implications of such findings on the immunomodulatory activity of cancer chemotherapy agents are lastly discussed.