CIRCULATING IMMUNE PROFILE IN PATIENTS WITH PRECANCER AND CANCER OF THE CERVIX - A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY AMONG INDIAN WOMEN

To fully understand immune competence in subjects with precancerous an d cancerous lesions of the uterine cervix, various markers of T and B cells in peripheral blood were evaluated. The cellular measures were t he absolute numbers of CD2, CD3,CD22, CD25, CD4, CD8 and CD4/CD8 T cel l ratio and serologic measures were the levels of cellular products ie interleukin-2 (IL-2) and soluble interleukin-2 receptors (SIL2-R). Ei ghty-five subjects were analysed, and diagnosed histologically as CIN (n = 33) and invasive cancer (n = 22). Thirty women with normal Pap te st results served as controls. Results on cellular markers showed a si gnificant decrease in peripheral blood lymphocyte counts in patients w ith higher grades of cervical lesions as compared to controls (CIN III P < 0.05 and invasive cancer P < 0.001). Similar trends were observed for CD22 cell counts (P < 0.001). A consistent decrease was observed for CD2 positive T lymphocytes in patients with higher grade cervical lesions only. In addition, a decrease in CD4-T cells with a relative i ncrease in CD8 and CD25 cell count was observed in these groups of pat ients, leading to a considerable reduction in CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio. Re sults obtained on soluble cellular products revealed that serum levels of IL-2 and SIL2-R in patient groups were significantly higher than c ontrols (P < 0.001). Preliminary findings indicated a host-vested cell ular impairment, evidenced by immune deficit and immune-stimulation, i n women with pre-cancer and cancerous lesions of the cervix.