Investigation of circulating immune complexes in patients with breast cancer

Circulating immune-complex (IC) levels of patients with breast cancer were measured before and after surgery using a complement-consumption technique. 16 of 26 patients showed raised pre-operative IC values. In 15 out of 16 patients the pathological IC levels decreased within 2--10 days following surgery. Suggestions about the applicability of this test not only for prognosis, but also for monitoring the course of breast cancer need to be confirmed by further investigations.