[Diagnostic value of cellular immunity indices in oncological practice]

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Oncology
• Diagnostic Medicine

Background:

• Assessing cellular immunity is crucial for diagnosing various diseases.
• Previous studies suggested potential roles for immune response markers in cancer detection.
• Standardized immune function tests are needed for clinical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic utility of four immunological tests in patients with malignancies, benign tumors, and non-tumor lesions.
• To determine if DNCB skin tests, rosette formation, PHA lymphocyte blast transformation, and leucocyte migration inhibition tests can differentiate between healthy individuals and patients with tumors.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 501 human subjects was studied, including a control group, patients with benign tumors, and patients with various cancers (lung, breast, rectum, lymphogranulomatosis).
• Four immunological tests were performed: 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) skin test, spontaneous rosette formation assay, phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-induced lymphocyte blast transformation, and leucocyte migration inhibition test.
• Data analysis followed the V. S. Genes method.

Main Results:

• The DNCB skin test, rosette formation, PHA lymphocyte blast transformation, and leucocyte migration inhibition tests did not show significant differences between the control group and patients with benign or malignant tumors.
• The study found no diagnostic value for the investigated immunological tests in identifying malignancies, benign tumors, or non-tumor lesions.

Conclusions:

• The evaluated immunological tests (DNCB skin test, rosette formation, PHA lymphocyte blast transformation, leucocyte migration inhibition) are not effective diagnostic tools for cancer or benign tumors.
• Further research may be needed to identify reliable immunological markers for tumor diagnosis.