DOES INFORMED ADJUVANT PLACEBO CHEMOTHERAPY FOR BREAST-CANCER ELICIT IMMUNE CHANGES

To study psychological effects on the immune system, a saline infusion was administered to 24 fully informed patients who previously had rec eived adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Blood samples were draw n before and after treatment, and compared to samples obtained at home two days earlier. Patients displayed a rise in natural killer-cell ac tivity and a tendency to lowered percentage of suppressor/cytotoxic ce lls when assessed before treatment as compared to at home. Trait anxie ty was associated with numbers of leukocytes. It is concluded that imm une status partly reflects psychological factors.