Immune defects in patients with head and neck cancer

Any deficiency or suppression of the immune response in head and neck cancer patients might be due to genetic factors of the host (patient factors), to tumor antigens (tumor factors) or to the medical treatment such as irradiation, anesthesia, major surgery or cytokine therapy (treatment factors). In order to achieve an effective adjuvant immunotherapy a thorough analysis of the immune situation is a prerequisite. With the increasing knowledge of the fine interactions with the immune system, the armamentarium has increased over the years. At the beginning only skin testing and T- and B-cell numbers were analyzed, whereas today a correlation of cell numbers, distribution and function is feasible.