[Cellular immunity indices in rectal cancer under surgical and combined treatment]

The dynamics of cell-mediated immunity indices in 83 patients with rectal tumors who underwent surgery or received combined treatment (preoperative radiation + surgery) was followed. Cellular immunity was assessed on the basis of PHA-induced blastogenic reaction of lymphocytes (BRL) and spontaneous rosette-formation. In rectal tumor patients, particularly at stage IV, the level of PHA-induced BRL and the total number of rosette-forming cells (RFC) were lower than in healthy donors. Surgery did not produce any significant changes in cell-mediated immunity parameters: level of PHA-induced BRL decreased by 16,7%, while total RFC number increased by 17.2% in (mostly low-affinity forms). Preoperative radiation resulted in a significant decrease in lymphocyte ability to undergo PHA-induced blast-transformation (45%) and spontaneous rosette formation, high-affinity lymphocytes being most sensitive to ionizing radiation. Their fraction decreased by half.