Immune defects in breast cancer patients after radiotherapy.

Immune defects in breast cancer patients after radiotherapy. J Soc Integr Oncol. 2008;6(3):110-21 Authors: Standish LJ, Torkelson C, Hamill FA, Yim D, Hill-Force A, Fitzpatrick A, Olsen M, Schildt S, Sweet E, Wenner CA, Martzen MR Abstract The purpose of this study was to evaluate the immune status of women with stage I-III breast cancer after receiving external beam radiotherapy (RT). Fourteen stage I-III, estrogen or progesterone receptor-positive or-negative (FER/PR +\-), postsurgical breast cancer patients undergoing a standard course of chemotherapy and radiation were studied. Complete blood counts (CBC) with differential, phagocytic activity, natural killer (NK) cell functional activity, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma cytokine activity were measured immediately before and for the six weeks following the completion of radiation therapy. Fatigue levels after completion of RT were measured using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Fatigue scale. Nonparametric statistical methods (Wilcoxon rank and Spearman correlations) were used to analyze the data. Compared with postchemotherapy, following the completion of RT, these breast cancer patients showed lymphopenia, low functional activity of natural killer lymphocytes, decreased monocyte phagocytic activity, and decreased TNF-alpha production but no neutropenia, no anemia, and no change in interferon-gamma production. Lymphocy...
Source: Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: J Soc Integr Oncol Source Type: research