Prognostic significance of immunological tests in lung cancer
Check, I.J.; Hunter, R.L.; Karrison, T.; DeMeester, T.R.; Golomb, H.M.; Vardiman, J.
Clinical and Experimental Immunology 43(2): 362-369
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0009-9104 PMID: 7023761 Document Number: 179340
A battery of tests were performed on peripheral blood samples from 94 patients with lung cancer to determine the extent to which immunological depression was due to abnormal lymphocyte function, as compared to changes in the lymphoid cell number in the peripheral blood or in the efficiency of cell purification in Ficoll-Hypaque gradients in preparation for testing. The lymphocyte percentage in the gradient-derived cell suspension (%LG) was the most informative test. It decreased significantly with advancing cancer stage and could predict patient survival with uniform stage. The percentage of LG correlated with survival better than any other test when multivariate analyses of all test combinations were performed. Low percentage of LG values reflected both the depressed lymphocyte counts and the altered leukocyte buoyant density of many patients with advanced cancer. A large proportion of the depression in other immune function tests was statistically attributed to changes in percentage of LG. Evidently this simple measurement provides valuable information about patients with lung cancer.