Abstract
The production of the cytokines IFN-gamma, IL-1-alpha, IL-2 and TNF-alpha was investigated in mitogen-stimulated, whole blood cell culture from 239 untreated patients with primary gynaecological carcinomas (breast, cervix, ovary, endometrium), and 191 healthy female controls. The cytokines were measured in the 4-day post-induction supernatants by a sensitive enzymoimmunological assay. In the blood cell cultures of all four groups of cancer patients, significantly lower values of IFN-gamma (P < or = 0.001), IL-2 (P < or = 0.01) and IL-1 alpha (P < or = 0.01) were found as compared to the controls, although lymphocyte and monocyte counts were almost identical. Grouping the tumour patients into different clinical stages we could show in the four groups of carcinomas a gradual depression of the cytokine production according to growing tumour burden.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dedicated to Professor O. Westphal for his 80th birthday.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Elsässer-Beile, U., von Kleist, S., Sauther, W. et al. Impaired cytokine production in whole blood cell cultures of patients with gynaecological carcinomas in different clinical stages. Br J Cancer 68, 32–36 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1993.282
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1993.282
This article is cited by
-
Altered maturation of peripheral blood dendritic cells in patients with breast cancer
British Journal of Cancer (2003)