M. Oka et al., NATURAL-KILLER ACTIVITY AND SERUM IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE ACIDIC PROTEIN-LEVELS IN ESOPHAGEAL AND GASTRIC CANCERS, SURGERY TODAY-THE JAPANESE JOURNAL OF SURGERY, 23(8), 1993, pp. 669-674
The natural killer (NK) activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells
and serum immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) levels were examined
in patients with esophageal or gastric cancer, before and after surge
ry. Patients with stage IV esophageal or stage IV gastric cancer had s
ignificantly lower NK activity (39.5 +/- 14.8% and 37 +/- 11.6%, respe
ctively), and also higher serum IAP levels (778 +/- 264 mug/mL and 633
+/-156 mug/mL, respectively), than the corresponding control values (
50 +/- 5.6% and 375 +/- 26 mug/mL, respectively). Patients with esopha
geal or gastric cancer who underwent curative resection had high NK ac
tivity (54.8 +/- 11.6% and 54.8 +/-8.0%, respectively), and low IAP le
vels (471 +/- 116 mug/mL and 490 +/- 42 mug/mL, respectively), compare
d with those who underwent non-curative resection. Patients who underw
ent non-curative resection had lower NK activity and higher serum IAP
levels than those who underwent curative resection, even 1 month after
surgery. Mononuclear cells in the regional lymph nodes and tumor spec
imens showed significantly lower NK activity than those in the periphe
ral blood and spleen. Thus, NK activity and the IAP level reflected th
e immunocompetence, clinical course, and surgical curability of those
patients. NK cells appeared not to have any significant antitumor acti
vity in the regional lymph nodes or in the tumor itself, although they
were still active in the peripheral blood.